Regaining Control
by PearlRoses630
Summary: I've completely edited this story, and since 2007 is the year of me NOT BEING A FLAKE I plan on finishing its sequel within a week.
1. Wishes

My one and ONLY disclaimer: I don't own anything, that won't change in the future chapters, so please don't sue me.

Hello everyone! I'm editing my story (which I put up here FOUR years ago!! Yikes. Time certainly does fly…) Regaining Control, because it needs it. Hopefully when I'm done, the writing will be more mature (not in content, just in quality).

**Chapter One**

Rhiannon Storms sat by herself in her living room, attacking a bottle of red wine with gusto. Halfway through, she was more than a little tipsy as she spoke on the phone to her best friend.

"Adam's getting out soon. I know. I know! I don't think he'd come back, though; I've got that restraining order. The most ridiculous thing is the very concept of 'good behavior'. How the fuck can you be 'good' in **prison**?! This justice system is so flawed… Be honest- do you think I'm in the wrong field?" Rhiannon paused, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Sweetie, don't let him do this to you. He's not even here, and he's got you questioning your self! You spent the better part of ten years working on your law degree. Of course you're in the right field. " With a sigh, Rhiannon took in the rationality of her friend's words.

"Thank you…I can't believe you're not living here anymore! How am I going to make it through our shopping trips without your midway motivation?" Melissa giggled on the other line. "Somehow, I think you'll make it."

"You're right! I'm talking crazy, aren't I? I think I might have had a bit too much wine." Melissa's response was another laugh, one that made her best friend's head spin.

"Okay, I'm more buzzed than I thought. Gotta get to bed.. now." Melissa's tinkling laughter gave her memories of them living together, before Melissa moved out to live with her now husband, Matt.

"Alright, go to bed, you wino. I hope you have a nice morning!" Melissa spoke through the phone, and followed up with giggles.

"Ha ha ha, you bitch. I'm sure I will. Talk to you soon?"

"A-sap. Bye!"

Rhiannon stepped out of the steaming bathroom, her dark hair shining with condensing water droplets in her hair and her smooth mocha skin flushed from being pelted with hot water for thirty minutes straight.

_'It's Friday night and all I'm doing is drinking, by myself, in my house.' _She thought to herself. _'How pathetic can my life be?'_

She knew her work was taking up too much of her life, but as a relatively new lawyer, she had to stay busy to learn as much as she could about the trade with as little tedious reading as possible. She felt she learned best when in the actual experience. She spent many of her school years wishing she'd lived in this time and that, to make learning about the incident easier.

_'Although I did pass the Bar, so there's _something _to be said,' _she reassured herself.

She looked around her bedroom, in the California coastal house that she had inherited from her grandmother. There were four bedrooms in the house, and after Melissa moved out, two guest rooms had been made available. Rhiannon stayed in the master bedroom, the guest rooms were the second smallest, identical rooms, and the smallest room stayed her office. It was piled high with papers and court minutes that she could learn from and use in future cases. She figured she would burn these piles when she ran out of wood for the master fireplace.

She placed the white gold chain her grandmother had given her on her vanity, and found an oversized tee and flannels for bed. She never wore anything sexy to bed; she thought that that was her time to be comfortable. If she felt like being sexy, she'd be sexy during the day. A cool spring breeze flew around her body, and she went to the window to close it. She looked up at the starry sky, and smiled. In California, you didn't always see the stars, but they were unusually bright tonight, and she could see Sirius, the dogstar, twinkling proudly. She picked the chain back up from the vanity, and ran her slender fingers along it until she found the charm. White gold, but inset with three stones : sapphire, emerald, and ruby. She liked looking at it, because it reminded her of when her grandmother explained it to her.

_Blue for water, green for earth, and red for fire._ That was to be her own special combination. She smiled at the memory of her grandmother, and closed the window. She climbed into bed and covered herself, trying not to let the spins from the wine get to her.

"I just wish I had something to help me get control… put some perspective on this crap," she sighed aloud, closing her eyes. She figured her sudden wave of dizziness was from the half bottle of wine she'd had.

Legolas, Elvenprince of Mirkwood, was running. Running, and he didn't know why. He stopped in a grassy, dew-dropped field, and dropped down on his back, not knowing what else to do. It was a waste of time to keep going, and he didn't know what he was running towards, or away from, in any case.

His impending rulership, the constant shadow which still yet hovered over his home, and the aftermath of the One Ring quest all weighed heavily on his mind. It was very rare for any Elf to lose self-control, and he was terrified that he was actually losing his mind. How many Elves could say they had been part of the pressure that he had? He was so needed in so many aspects, and he didn't know how he was going to fulfill his duties. He looked up at his favorite star, focusing on the bright spot in the sky to ask for help from those higher up.

"Handeleamin waanele. I only wish I had something to help me get control," he added in the Common Speech. He then closed his eyes, suddenly dizzy.

Translations:

Huo Elvea : Starlike Dog

Handeleamin waanele. : My intellect is passing.


	2. A New Arrival

**Chapter Two **

Legolas opened his eyes, and was greeted with not starry sky, as he had thought. It wasn't even a morning sky. It wasn't sky at all. It was a strange, white ceiling. He blinked once, and then twice, but still it remained. The confused Elf sat up noiselessly, and looked around him. As he swept the room, he saw a large wooden bureau, several looking glasses, and a tall bookshelf. He stood quickly and without noise, and walked over to it. He gazed at the titles, in the Common Tongue, and turned, looking around again. A huge black window with no view reflected a bright light as sunlight broke though the metal slats covering the clear glass window, and he watched as a glowing object on a bedtable changed in the a strange script. Suddenly, an unbearably loud noise blasted out of it, and the before-unnoticed hump on the bed turned over. He wasn't sure where he was, and he definitely wasn't sure he liked being here.

Rhiannon Melody Storms had never had such an intense hangover in her life. Furthermore, not only was she completely hung over, that goddamned radio was still as high as it was when she left it turned all the way up. She had been in her adjoining bathroom trying to hear her favorite song. She let out a moan, pushed off her cat, Avariel, and pushed back the covers.

_' Pancakes and Aleve. Pancakes, a latte, and Aleve.' _She reached for the off button with her eyes closed, remembering her pledge to herself to start running on the weekends. It could wait till next weekend. She forced her self out of bed prepared to embark on an animalistic search for relief. As she stood, however, her eyes cleared, and she was met with the most beautiful man she had ever seen standing in her room, near her bookcase. She screamed, sheer terror taking over her and all hangover (almost) forgotten.

Legolas tilted his head to one side and looked at the screaming siren in front of him. She was letting out scream after bloodcurdling scream, and he could only assume it was because of him. He looked at her while she was screaming, her creamy, dark complexion, and wider hips, told him that she was obviously human. Human women were so much more passionate about everything. The screaming was getting to be rather annoying, and so he decided to stop it. He stepped forward to try to calm her, and when he placed a hand on her shoulder, she abruptly stopped and looked at him, her mouth still suspended in a silent holler.

If this was one of Melissa's tricks, she would kill her dead. She looked up into sparkling blue eyes which were filled with mirth. Correction. Thank her profusely, and _then_ kill her dead. She grabbed at the phone and punched in her memory dial key 1. The phone rang four times before she was answered. A groggy sounding Melissa picked up the phone.

"Melissa!" She hissed, as if the man standing in front of her with his hand still on her shoulder would not be able to hear her. Her best friend knew something was wrong, hearing the urgency in her voice.

That, and it was before noon on a Saturday morning. They didn't call each other before noon on Saturdays unless it was an emergency.

"Is something wrong? What is it?"

"Yes. Something is wrong, Melissa." Rhiannon couldn't tell if the male prostitute Melissa had hired to scare her out of bed could speak English or not, but she decided to keep going.

" Well are you okay?! Rhiannon! It's like, eight in the morning!"

"Missy, you wouldn't by chance be able to tell me why there is a tall, blonde man standing in my bedroom, would you?"

"There's a tall, blonde man standing in your bedroom?"

"Melissa, kindly stop fucking around, and tell me you know something about this." Rhiannon knew her friend wasn't lying. She could hear it in her voice, but still pleaded with her to make it something else.   
_'Oh God,' _she thought, _'I'm going to die.'_

"I'm sorry, but I have no clue….. wait, THERE'S A TALL BLONDE MAN STANDING IN YOUR BEDROOM AND YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT?! HOW MUCH WINE DID YOU HAVE LAST NIGHT? DID YOU GO ANYWHERE?!" Rhiannon heard the moans of Melissa's husband, Matt, as she shrieked.

"I have to go, Melissa."

"No! What the hell is going on?!" Melissa was met with a sound click as Rhiannon hung up the phone, and she turned to her visitor. He was still holding her hand.

"Who are you?" Her voice was squeaky.

Legolas watched as the erratic woman in front of him picked up another strange object, pushed at it, and began talking to it. She said five lines of dialogue before she hung up, leading him to think that she was crazy. He raised an eyebrow and watched her skeptically. With her mouth closed, though, he could see that she was very attractive. She had large, honey colored eyes, and dark brown hair that was long and wavy. Her face was very symmetrical, and as he continued to look at her, he thought she would have a stunning smile.

Finally she turned to him and asked, "Who are you?"

"Are you well?" He wanted to make sure she was sound enough for him to go on.

"Yes, I'm fine now. Answer the question." He could see through her valiant effort to be brave. The slight wavering of her voice caused him to smile before he went on, ignoring the faint blush to her cheeks.

"I am Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood. I do not know how I came to be here, I was hoping you would be able to help me, but it seems that you are as confused as I am. And what is your name?" She looked at him with a blank stare for a few seconds before starting, and answered.

"Um, I'm Rhiannon… of Southern California, I guess, and I'm just a lawyer, okay, not really that important… I don't really know how you got here, but," Her eyes swept over his clothing and weapons, "Um, where did you say you were from?"

"Mirkwood, Lady Rhiannon."  
" I see. Well, where exactly IS Mirkwood?" She cringed. She knew she wasn't going to like this.

"In Middle Earth, of course." Legolas rushed forward and caught Rhiannon as her knees gave out. She barely noticed, as she was looking at him in absolute incredulity.

When Rhiannon snapped back, she was facing those same blue eyes, only now she was sitting on her bed. She swore. She'd been hoping it was a dream.

"Lady Rhiannon?"

"Just Rhiannon, please."

"Just Rhiannon?" Rhiannon rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"Never mind.. What is it?"

"Can you help me understand what is wrong with our current situation?"

"Well for one, this is the year two thousand and three." This time it was Legolas' turn to pale.

Rhiannon had had four aspirin. She was numb, and she liked it. She was downstairs, sitting at her kitchen table, Legolas across from her. She looked down at her tea, and then through her glass table at her fuzzy pink slippers, and his leather boots.

"Alright, let's figure this out." She felt what she liked to call 'The Lawyer Within' come out, her logical side, to sort everything out and get a solution. "You're from Middle Earth." Legolas nodded. "It's now 2003." Another nod. " And you're here, now." A third nod.

" Jesus tap-dancing Christ, what is going on!? Am I going insane? Sane people do NOT wake up to strange men from Mirkwood reading their damn books!" She was beginning to get hysterical as the situation sunk in. The normally loyal Avariel jumped from her lap when she began moving her feet nervously. Rhiannon looked up at Legolas with a start when her cat jumped into his lap.

"How did you do that?" She watched his face closely.

"Hm?" Legolas looked up. He'd been scratching the head of Avariel, and listening to her purr.

"Avariel hates people!"

"The Elves have always had an ability to tame animals."

"Elves?"

"Yes, Rhiannon," Legolas said, laughing at her expression. He had a melodious laugh that made Rhiannon relax, and made her comfortable enough to ask her next question.

"Let me get this straight. Not only are you from middle earth, you also are an Elf, Prince Legolas?" Legolas pulled back his hair and showed her his ears.

"I am, Rhiannon."

"And… so… what does that actually mean?"

"The Elves are the fairest race, the chosen peoples of the gods." He paused before continuing, "I am immortal." Rhiannon sprayed the table with latte.

"Oh -oh my god. I am so very, very sorry. That was incredibly disgusting." She leapt up from the table and went into the kitchen, got a towel, and began to clean the mess up, Avariel purring loud enough for her to hear. _'Traitor,' _She thought.

"So, um, how old are you, exactly?" Rhiannon asked absentmindedly while running the dish towel over the spill.

"In Middle Earth, I was two-thousand, nine-hundred and fifty two years of age. I would assume my age is the same here, but I do not physically age, so I cannot say exactly." She looked up, and immediately sat down.

"Okay! Well, since neither of us know how you got here yet, I suppose you'll have to stay until we can figure it out. Which means I need to calm down. Which means…" Legolas saw her first smile since he arrived. "Shopping!"


	3. Adapting

Chapter Three

"Alright, Legolas, we're going to be traveling by something called automobile. It will be strange for you, I would think, but you're going to be fine. I promise." Legolas looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Why will it be so strange?"

She grinned, wanting to see the surprise on his face. "You'll see. I'm going to get ready. Can you wait here?"

"Yes, I will wait for you."

"Great. I'll be out in about five." She held up her outstretched hand as she ascended the stairs.

Rhiannon came down the steps fully dressed and done up forty-five minutes later. Legolas noted that her face was painted up.

"Okay, are we all ready to go?" She grabbed her keys, cell phone, and a pen and stuffed them into her purse. " Hmm.. stove is off, doors…" She walked around the house, closing and locking. ".. are locked, windows.. " she took a glance around, beginning her mental checklist for leaving the house. and nodded her head. ".. are cool. Alright then." She took one last sweep over her downstairs, and did a double take at Legolas on her overstuffed couch, Avariel in his lap, watching her every move curiously. She gave him one look and said,

"Aw, shit."

"Is something wrong?" Legolas noticed her tone.

"You can't wear that! What else can we put you in?" She went to look around, knowing already that she wouldn't find anything, when his voice cut through her intentions.

"I see nothing wrong with it."

"Okay with me if it's alright with you! It's your thing." She was getting a little sick of hearing _'what is this called?'_ all morning. "Let's go."

Sitting in the car, Legolas watched as Rhiannon climbed up into her seat. She drove a black SUV, which Legolas just stared at. After he had finally gotten in, she started the car, and Legolas looked at her in utter confusion. She just smiled.

"Ready Legolas? Good." With that, she pushed the remote for the garage door, and watched Legolas' face of amazement and surprise out of the corner of her eye as she pulled out.

Rhiannon and Legolas strolled through the mall. As soon as they'd arrived, he started getting strange looks, and she pulled him frantically into the nearest store, with "Go. Go now," as her urging demand.  
He took indignance to being pushed, but went anyway. She rarely went shopping for men, but at this point, anything was better than the olive tunic and leggings topped, of course, with the bow. They walked out, Rhiannon in her black leather heeled boots, dark wash jeans and a light spring sweater, her hair up messily and a smugly relieved look on her face.  
Legolas was now in jeans, black shoes, a gray paperboy cap to both hide his ears and hold his long hair in, and a black blazer with a white, button-up collared shirt on underneath and a bag with his original clothes in it. After a quick trip back to the car, they were bag-free and began their trip into the mall anew.

In Nordstrom's, they went to the men's department, and were greeted by a female attendant in pinstriped pants, pointy white heels, a white baby tee that revealed plenty of cleavage and black cat-eye glasses. To Rhiannon, she reeked of simpering skank.

"Hello, and welcome to Nordstrom's. How may I help you?" The woman kept looking Legolas up and down approvingly. Rhiannon cleared her throat and called attention to herself once more.

"Yes, I want all the essentials for my friend here. He's visiting, from far away, and of course, the international baggage just didn't work, so we need everything new." Her eyebrows raised at the woman's gaze went back to Legolas.

"Alright, and… what's his size?" The woman asked in a completely inappropriate tone.

"I don't exactly know his **sizes**, so could we get him measured? The numbers are different where he's from," Rhiannon replied, stressing the plural and frowning at the walking sexual harassment suit.

"Yes, of course. Richard?" A man strolled over, measuring tape around his neck. "Could you get this man's measurements so we can continue with the shopping? Thankssomuuuch.." with that the woman walked away, and Rhiannon had the nerve to mutter under her breath, "Skank." She then turned to Legolas and spoke.   
"I'm going to go and look for shoes for you, okay? I'll come back in like, 15 minutes."

"Does that actually mean 15 minutes, or two hours and 15 minutes?"

"What do you mean?"

"This morning, you said that you would be finished in five minutes, and you came down after forty-five minutes, and I was confused. Is time different in this era?"

"Legolas!" she stressed through her teeth. "Let's come over here and have a talk!" She led him away from Richard, his measuring tape and his curious look, and said urgently,  
"Legolas, you cannot let anyone else know that you are not from this time." She looked around, and continued. "Especially since you don't know how to get back. The things they could do to you! And probably government regulated, so it might not even be illegal! Please. You've **got **to be more careful."

"I am sorry, Rhiannon. I did not know.." He got an uneasy look. "What would they do to me?"

"Oh, I don't know.. Keep you locked up, dissect you, run tests, something horrible like that."

"Men are absurd. They did not care for the Elves during my time, but now they wish to dissect me to gain information." He rolled his eyes before looking back at her. " I will be more careful."

"Thank you. And I mean fifteen minutes, not longer. Go get measured." She sent him away with a smile, and went to look at shoes.

Five hours, thirteen stores, and a complete wardrobe later, Legolas and Rhiannon (running high on shopping endorphins) climbed back into the SUV. Rhiannon clicked on the radio. Legolas turned to her.   
"Rhiannon?"

"Hmm?" She replied absentmindedly, finding a song on her iPod to play for the drive home.

"What does 'skank' mean?" Rhiannon turned to him and burst out laughing. She had a hunch he'd been waiting the entire shopping trip to ask her that.

"Did you actually hear me?"

"Of course. I told you, my hearing is much advanced."

"It's those ears of yours." She reached out and playfully pulled down the paperboy cap. "A skank is someone who is.. promiscuous. Most commonly a woman. And I called 'Little Miss Attendant' a skank because she basically leaped into your jeans. Oh! I love this song!" She cranked up the volume, and sang loudly along.

Legolas gazed out of the window at the whizzing lights and buildings going by him, Rhiannon's voice breaking through his thoughts.

"Rhiannon?"

She stopped singing and looked at him.

"What do you mean, 'leaped into' my jeans?"  
Rhiannon decided she found his curiosity adorable, and not annoying. Amazing what looks can do.

"Oh! Um, well. She wanted to f- um, have relations with you." Legolas looked appalled.

"Why would I have relations with a woman with such little honor?" Rhiannon snorted.

"Ya got me on that one!" She pushed the next song button, and began singing to Cher. She pressed the button for the next track, and squealed in delight. " Celiiine!! I love her!" Legolas watched her with a smile on his face, deciding her would ask about the music machine later. Legolas let out a laugh, watching her dance goofily along with the pop music blasting from the speakers. She stopped, and looked at him, smiling face and sparkling eyes. "Aw, shutup. Just for that, I'll give ya some more." She pushed the button four times, rolling the windows down as she went. "Bye bye bye! I'm doin' this tonight, you're probably gonna start a fight! I know this can't be right, hey baby come on!" Legolas laughed again. At the end, she was trying to teach him the one, two, three wave move from the videos as they laughed together loudly.

Back at home, Rhiannon got the adjoining bedroom prepared for Legolas. She hung up all his clothes with him, changed the sheets, and showed him the bathroom, and explained that her bedroom was through the other door in case he needed anything. She set up the colognes she had gotten him, noting the absence of deodorant and other toiletries. She'd tried to get them for him, but after she told him what they were for, he explained that he didn't need them, as he didn't sweat or dirty. He did mention something about an excellent invention for Dwarves, but she wasn't quite ready to tackle that hill just yet.

"Rhiannon? Could you please…" Legolas' voice sounded muffled. She crossed the bathroom to see him with boxers on, and the loose pants of one of the flannel pajama sets on his head. She collapsed in laughter, stomach still a little sore from the laughing and singing in the car. She walked to him, wiping the tears from her eyes, and took the pants off his head. She explained to him what to do, and covered her eyes as she walked out to her own bedroom to change for bed.

"What am I going to do with you?" She called through the rooms to him, pulling on a big shirt.

Legolas' blonde head poked through the door at this.

"You could try to help me figure out how I got here."


	4. Meeting Melissa

**Chapter Four**

"Must you sneak?" Rhiannon jumped at his voice being in her room. She hadn't heard him moving.

" I apologize, I did not mean to startle you, Rhiannon."

"I'm alright, but sheesh!" The rest of Legolas walked into her room and she was a bit surprised to see that he hadn't put on the shirt that went with the flannel set. He watched her look over his bare torso, and began to explain.

"I tried to put on the top to finish the set, but it was very uncomfortable, and so I took it off." Clearly this was one who was used to doing what he wanted. He sat cross-legged on the chair near her canopy bed after turning it so he was facing her directly.

"Well, yeah, I guess.. Hey, some people sleep completely nude! Whatever floats your boat and isn't illegal, I always say." Legolas thought about this for a minute or two, and just decided to stop. Humans could be rather strange. Avariel padded into the room, her footsteps cushioned and silenced by the carpeting.

"Ava! Come here, baby! Where's my pretty kitty? There she is!" Rhiannon continued to coo and call the cat, making kissy faces as she strode up and leaped directly into the hollow in Legolas' lap. Rhiannon glared at the cat as Legolas looked up at her. "You know, she only likes you for your looks." They shared a brief, meaningful smile as they both caught the meaning of her words, and then went silent as the focus went to Legolas scratching Avariel's head.

"How did you name her?" Rhiannon's eyes went up to Legolas' face. He was now staring directly at her.

"Um, my grandmother loved the name. She always told me that if she had had girls, she would have named them Avariel. Unfortunately, there were only six boys to be had from her. But when I saw this one," Avariel opened her eyes to half-slits and looked at Rhiannon, who then stuck her tongue out at her," I knew right away. Why do you ask?"

"Avariel is a name of my own language."

"Really?" Rhiannon asked breathlessly, surprised and a little curious as to why her grandmother had chosen the name.

"Yes." He looked away.

"Let's try to figure out how you got here, so we can get you back home, where you want to be. I've always known the city could wear you out, but I never thought that in one day we could drive away the Elves!" Legolas smirked at her. "Alright. Last night.. what did I do? I got drunk, I talked on the phone with Missy, and then I showered, and went to bed. Nothing spectacular, really... I was looking at the stars, and then I fell asleep." Legolas' head went up.

"I was looking at the stars last night, I was in a field looking at them." Rhiannon nodded solemnly at him.  
" Okay, that's one thing we've got. We were doing something in unison. What else? I guess we're looking for small details now. Um, I was looking at the stars, but I do that all the time.. which one was it?" Legolas looked at her as she spoke quietly out loud. Of course, he heard every word. "Sirius. The dogstar!"

"Huo Elvea? I noticed the star as well, it is one of my favorites."

"Do you think, that maybe that was it?"

"Anything is possible, Silmeamin." He had decided that she was completely adorable when she was trying to solve a problem.

"That sounds beautiful. What does it mean?" Legolas stood, Avariel in his arms, and placed her on the bed next to her owner.

"My starlight. Tenna' tul're, quel kaima." Rhiannon sank back on the bed, and gathered up Avariel in her arms. She felt so relaxed, and she wasn't sure that it wasn't caused by the melodious voice of Prince Legolas himself. She sighed, and looked down at the cat.

"We're gonna have to have a talk, you wanton slut."

The next morning, Rhiannon came downstairs to the smell of toast and the sound of eggs in the pan. She smiled.

"Morning, Legolas!"

"'Quel amrun, Silmeamin!" Rhiannon's fuzzy slippers touched the wooden floor and she slid into the kitchen.

"And what does that mean?"

"It means, 'Good morning, my Starlight'. " She flushed as he continued speaking. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, yes, thank you for asking. What are you doing?"

"Cooking breakfast."

"I know, but I mean, I didn't know you could cook! And so early!"

"I don't sleep, Rhiannon. I thought I should make myself of use. There is something coming, but I do not know what it is. It means danger for you, I can feel it. I want to make sure that you are safe."

"Well, that's very sweet of you to worry about me… shit! Double shit! Where's the phone?" Legolas had put down the spatula and was looking after Rhiannon as she rushed around the kitchen. She finally pushed the speaker phone button on the phone jack, punched in the memory dial key 1, and listened for the ring. She looked at him with a hurried expression, and began to speak. "I called my best friend, Melissa McLaughlin, yesterday morning, and told her a strange person was in my room and that-

"Hello?!" The frantic voice of Rhiannon's best friend quickly answered.

"Missy? Oh my god, I'm sooooo sorry I forgot to call you! I know you were just about ready to call the Missing Persons, weren't you?" Rhiannon blanched, faced with the scolding she knew she was going to get. Melissa began half shrieking, going at a pace so fast, even Rhiannon was losing some of the words. Legolas was looking at the phone base with wide eyes.

"I was **on the phone** with the goddamned Missing Persons! That's why I took so long to answer! I have been terrified for your safety. What the fuck is going on?! You call me and tell me that a strange man is in your room, your voice gets funny, you hang up, and all of a fucking sudden I don't hear from you all day and I don't know if you're lying in a pool of your own blood! " Melissa gave a huge gasp for breath.

"MELISSA! He's standing right here, and you're on speaker!"

"What the fuck do you mean he's standing right there?! Who is he?!"

"I can't say over the phone."

"WHAT?! What the fuck does that mean?!"

"Calm down, I'm okay! I'm fine! Do you want to come and see me? Come see me, and I can tell you in person."

"I'm on my way. Should I bring my pepper spray?"

"No, Missy, that will not be necessary," Rhiannon replied with a smirk that Melissa could practically hear.

"Alright, well, I have to get ready, I'll be done in like, five! See you soon!" at this, Legolas and Rhiannon exchanged a glance and laughed.

Sure enough, an hour and a half later, a silver Jetta screeched onto the street in front of Rhiannon's house. She rushed to the door, after telling Legolas what to wear and hoping he could manage, and opened before her friend's hand could touch the bell. She was leaped on by a flurry of blonde hair and French manicure, and both women fell to the floor. Before she knew what was happening, she was being straddled and closely looked over by Melissa. When her eyelid was pulled open, she rolled over, causing them to both land on their sides, and stood up.

"Melissa, darling, if I **had** been hurt, how would mauling me have helped?"

"Oh shut up, you logical bitch. I was scared shitless yesterday, Rhiannon!"

"I said I was sorry! I've been dealing with some heavy shit here, you know!" Legolas, hearing the commotion, came from the guest bedroom to look down over the women. Rhiannon looked up, and Melissa followed her gaze. She eyed Legolas warily and Rhiannon called him down.

"Legolas, come down and meet Melissa. She's my best friend, and we can trust her enough to tell her about everything." Melissa looked at her strangely, and turned to look back up the stairs, only to be faced with a solid wall of tee-shirt clad chest. She tilted her head up to meet bold, bright blue eyes.

"Missy, this is Legolas."


	5. Memories

**Chapter Five**

"Um, hi?" Melissa looked up at Legolas with a good deal trepidation, despite her friend's obvious comfort with him. She knew that Rhiannon had a good head on her shoulders, but still. She made mistakes.

"Hello, Melissa. I am Legolas of Mirkwood." Melissa looked at Rhiannon blankly.

"Where's Mirkwood? Is that Nordic? He looks Nordic." she hissed.

"Mirkwood is in Middle Earth, Lady Melissa." Melissa looked at him, not expecting him to have heard her. At this, Rhiannon stepped in.

"Missy, Legolas is an Elven prince and we, um, wished on the same star at the same time for the same thing, and then when I woke up the next morning he was here and I don't know how he's going to get back, but we have to keep him a secret, because they'd want to take him away if they knew, and Melissa, I swear to any god there may be above or below, if you tell anyone, I will kill you." Melissa stared blankly in response.

"Waitwaitwait just a minute. This," Melissa countered, indicating Legolas, "is a prince from Middle Earth?" She was confirmed with a nod. "Oh. Well, then." She turned to Legolas and gave him a half smile, and then turned to Rhiannon.

"You're out of your fucking mind! Elves from Middle Earth don't just pop up because you wish for them! They just don't! I'm the fantasy having one, and you're Miss Sensible, and they just don't! They don't!" She was getting frantic. She turned to Legolas.

"Did you drug her? Did you get her addicted to heroin or something? I'll kill you! I'm calling the police."

Legolas put a hand on her arm.

"I promise you, Lady Melissa," he began, pulling back his hair, " I am an Elf." Melissa swooned at the sight of his pointed ears.

Melissa had wakened, and was lying on the couch with a mug of tea in her hands covered by a blanket. Rhiannon sat curled on the chair across from her with Avariel in her lap.

"Missy, are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm positive, I just had a minor overload. It's _fine_!"

"If you're sure…" Rhiannon looked down at her purring cat and smirked. "For once this one comes to me."

"Avariel? It's not like she'd go to anyone else." Legolas walked into the room, sat on the chair arm next to Rhiannon and Avariel was instantly awake and rubbing against his legs. Melissa's eyes widened. "Now that is some crazy stuff right there. I think I might have to believe you! That cat is a demon! Nobody could tame her but you, Ry!"

"Yeah, well she's become a disloyal little slut, I can tell you that much!" Before Rhiannon could continue her tirade against the cat, Legolas cut in.

"Excuse me, but I am going to go for a walk. I have something to do." He placed Avariel in Rhiannon's lap and noted the look on her face. "Do not worry, Silmeamin, I am only going to look around. I am more comfortable when I know my surroundings."

"Oh…um, alright then, I guess. But be careful!" Legolas smiled at her and left. Melissa looked at her curiously.

"What did he just call you?" Rhiannon smiled.

"Hm? Oh that. Nothing, really. It's in Elvish." Rhiannon informed her matter-of-factly.

"Okay… Rhi, I know you don't want to talk about this, but.. Adam's getting out this week. Is that what's making you so crazy?"

"Oh please, Melissa. I'm not being crazy, I'm not on heroin, Adam is not affecting my current situation. I am fine." Her eyes filled with frustrated tears, which made her more frustrated. She didn't like crying.

"Honey, " Melissa began, coming over and wrapping Rhiannon in a hug, " No one's blaming you. Nobody. I know you'll be okay. I'm sure you'll be fine. Everything will be okay." She was rocking her, swaying from left to right, and hot tears were landing on her hands.

"I'm fine now! My ex-boyfriend beat me, I put him in prison, and now he's getting out. You happy? I can say it now!"

"Rhiannon, you know I'm just trying to help…"

"But you're not. And now that you've seen that I'm fine, and **not **crazy, I think you should go."

That night, Rhiannon laid her bed, the television on mute, thinking about the next day. She was going to have to go to work, but luckily she had no life, and plenty of sick days amassed. She thought back to the spring break from six years ago, and how she and Melissa had gone to some remote little island in the Caribbean, Isla something or other. Then when she had gotten back a day early and taken the trek upstairs with her luggage, Adam had been in her bed, nude on top of some girl and going to town. She still remembered how the tears had welled up in her eyes, how she had dropped her suitcase, how the clasp had snapped and the clothes gone flying, and she whispered faintly like she had that day,

"How could you do this to me?" She was shocked he heard her over the moans and grunts filling the room, but sure enough, he turned to look at her over his shoulder. It was enough that he was always screaming and yelling at her, he'd even hit her a few times, but for him to do this..

"It's not even your house! How could you do this to me?!" She was screaming now, and the redhead underneath her boyfriend had slid from the bed and gathered up her discarded clothes. She paused in front of Rhiannon as she left, just long enough to receive a resounding smack across the face.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Rhiannon bellowed, hot tears of fury filling her eyes. The girl had run downstairs, followed closely by Rhiannon, attempting to put on her clothes as she went, but was pushed roughly out of the house topless and barefoot. Rhiannon felt herself be grabbed roughly, and was turned around by a furious Adam, and she glared at him, knowing what was coming. At this point, she didn't know if she cared.

"What do you think you're doing? You won't give me any, what else am I supposed to do?" Adam's voice was ragged, after heavy breathing. She had always told him that she was saving herself, and he must have assumed for marriage. She just meant for someone else. She wasn't even a virgin, but he didn't necessarily need to know that… She had always been a little surprised that he didn't push the issue further, but now she had a good suspicion of why. Rhiannon pushed past him and turned to say,

"You've been fucking somebody else in my bed. Why don't you catch your fucking breath, and then we can talk." She turned, and felt his hand grab her hair and pull her to him. Her back hit his chest and she felt his breath on her neck.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way."

"Let me go, Adam." He pitched her forward, and she fell on her hands and knees. When she stood and faced him, he punched her in her jaw, and even he heard the crack. He pushed her onto her back, and dragged her across the carpet to the tiled floor of the kitchen. When he straddled her waist and grabbed her hair, her head began to swim, and then he pounded her head against the floor. Again, and again he pulled her head up and slammed it back down on the ceramic. She faintly heard a car pull into the driveway, but Adam was yelling at her, nonsense about her always respecting him and never doing anything so rude to him again, that he'd kill her, and how dare she make him cheat on her. She knew that he had that look in his eyes, the look he had when he had completely lost control, even though she couldn't see from the pain in her skull. When the door to the garage opened and Melissa came in from her date screaming, with Matt behind her, Adam had kept going still, and finally, Rhiannon slipped into darkness. When she was in the hospital, the doctor had come in and told her that there had been blood everywhere, and that her jaw was definitely broken, but she would be back to normal in a few weeks.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks and her vision became blurry. She saw a small blurb jump onto her bed, and pulled Avariel into her arms. She'd gotten her from the Humane Society soon after coming back home because she needed someone to take care of, and an abandoned kitten seemed to fit the job. Her tears rolled down Avariel's fur, and when Legolas walked into her bedroom after hearing her soft crying, she didn't stop. She tried, but the tears just came harder and she began to shake lightly. Whenever she thought about it, the pain came back, and now that bastard was getting out, because he didn't actually kill her, just tried pretty hard. Before she knew it, she was wrapped in Legolas' arms, cheek on his warm shoulder, her tears running down his bare chest.

"I'm sorry. It's this guy. I used to be in a relationship with a man, who was abusive. He's in prison now, but he's getting out very soon, and I think there's a good chance he'll come here. You know, he always told me that I was much too stupid to become a lawyer.. I think it was because he knew that that was the one thing I'd worked my entire life to become.. Oh God, what am I going to do?" She was sobbing now, and Legolas' hands were rubbing her back and stroking her hair, and he began whispering to her in Elvish.

" Lle naa ilya teera.. Lle naa ar ilya teera..Martalanat wanya an, Silmeamin, lle anta quenteamin. Lle naa ar ilya teera. Shhhh.. Silmeamin, uye nyeere. Lle anta quenteamin, lle naa ar ilya teera, lle na varna iire lle amin harya o lle. Lle anta quenteamin, Silmeamin, amin lle varya ." He began to sing softly, gently rocking her in his arms.

"Cîr dynd ah erain dynd

neledh lui neledh.

Man tyngir o dôr dhannen

or-aear hirol?

Geil odog a sern odog,

a galadh hilivren vîn."

He kissed the top of her head and laid her on her bed, asleep.

Legolas' words (roughly translated) :

You're okay.. I will not let anyone hurt you, you will be alright. Nothing's going to happen, Silmeamin, I swear it to you. I won't let you be harmed, you'll be okay. Shhhh.. you do not deserve this, Silmeamin, do not let yourself be worried. I promise, you will be okay, you will be safe as long as I am here. I promise, Silmeamin, I will protect you, nothing will harm you.

Ze song (which is sung by Gandalf on his way to Minas Tirith, talking about the Palantiri) :

'Tall ships and tall kings

three times three.

What brought they from the foundered land

over the flowing sea?

Seven stars and seven stones

and one white tree.'


	6. The Beach

Chapter Six

Rhiannon woke up precisely six hours late the next morning, and immediately remembered last night's events.

"Not going to work today. I absolutely refuse. They can't make me if I tell them that I… am having a mental breakdown. That's it." She picked up the phone and punched in the keys to her office's building.

"Ms. Kirkpatrick? Hi, it's Rhiannon Storms. I'm so very sorry, but I really can't come in today. Could you patch me directly to Mr. Johnson's office?" Anne Kirkpatrick, the mousy secretary who ran the front desk, responded in her soft voice. Rhiannon knew better, she'd seen her make several people cry.

"Rhiannon, dearie! I'm sure it'll be alright with Mr. Johnson if you missed today.. I'll smooth it over with him for you if need be! Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine physically, but I don't know how long it will take to get everything alright… I should really talk to Mr. Johnson, I don't know if I'll be in at all this week."

"That's fine. I can handle the boss, just make sure you everything settled." Rhiannon was surprised at her response.

"You're a lifesaver, Ms. Kirkpatrick. Thank you so much for everything." She hung up the phone, relieved that she wouldn't have to tell her boss about her personal drama. She let herself collapse wearily on her back, covering her eyes with the palms of her hands and moaning.

She heard light scratching on her door and shuffled to her door to open it for Avariel. Instead she was met with Legolas standing there, a tray balanced steadily in one hand and two glasses balanced in the other, Avariel sitting at his feet.

"Lle hanta, Avariel." He spoke as he entered the bedroom and placed the tray on the table next to Rhiannon's bed. He looked at her worriedly.

"Are you feeling better this morning, Silmeamin?" She smiled weakly at him.

"I never knew letting your feelings out could be so tiring. I am better… thank you so much for helping." She blushed.

"I would aid you in any way possible. Do you not have anything to do today?" She gave a satisfied smirk.

"Not anymore."

"How far away are you from the sea?" Rhiannon looked thoughtful.

"About ten minutes… by car, that is." Then she realized who was asking, and looked at him. "Why?"

"I would like to see it."

"I haven't been to the beach in years."

"You do not have to accompany me."

"Yeah, right. Like I'd let you out in swimwear alone."

Two hours later, Rhiannon and Legolas arrived at the beach. Rhiannon laid down the blanket while Legolas propped up the umbrella and left to go to the water's edge. Female bathers raised their heads as he went by. Rhiannon laid on the blanket and watched as he stood perfectly still and just looked over the water. For twenty minutes, he stood there, and finally Rhiannon picked up one of the magazines she had brought to give her eyes and his bum a break. She was in the middle of 'The Right Bathing Suit For Your Shape' when Legolas' shadow cooled her legs. She put down the magazine, pushed her sunglasses onto her nose, and looked at him.  
"What is the point of coming to the beach if you do not swim?"

"For the sheer excitement of being here," she replied in a monotoned sarcasm. Legolas held out his hand.

"Come." Rhiannon sighed and stood up, tugging at her lavender bikini, which was sticking to her skin. They arrived at the edge of the water, and the remnants of a wave rushed over their feet. Rhiannon jumped, eliciting a laugh out of Legolas.

"Why do you jump, Silmeamin, it is only linque!"

"It was cold," Rhiannon mumbled. Legolas laughed again, and swept her up, evoking a scream, and walked swiftly into the water until it reached slightly above his waist. As soon as a wave washed in, grazing her bottom, he promptly dropped her. Rhiannon stood, her wavy hair sticking to her head and droplets of saltwater falling from her lashes. She leapt at him, and he caught her in his arms and swung around, plunging her underneath. She wrapped her legs around his and pulled with all her might, and he landed with her. They slowly stood in unison, water traveling in rivulets down their bodies.

"The war has begun, Silmeamin."

Five hours later, Rhiannon straggled out of the ocean after Legolas, and collapsed on the blanket after their tenth trip back to finish their water fight. She turned to him.

"Now you watch how my ass cramps tomorrow." Legolas laughed.

"War does have its casualties." Rhiannon reached up and let the umbrella down to see the stars. Legolas laid beside her and spoke.

"This is what I was doing the last time I was in Middle Earth." Rhiannon turned on her side, propped herself up, and looked at him.

"How much do you miss it?" She asked with a sympathetic tone. He looked at her.

"Not as much as you think I do. There were so many elements to my future at that point, and my life was almost unbearable. Also, there were the callings. Middle Earth is a place where it is not uncommon for wishes made to be granted. There, one does not wish for things unless truly needing them. Since I have come here, I have been so much more relaxed, although completely ettelen. Everything seems better." Rhiannon gave a half smile and laid back down. "Although," he added," I do miss Gimli." He laid a hand on her arm.

"Silmeamin, you are cool to the touch. We should go." He stood and put his hand out, and pulled her up.

Lle hanta : Thank you

Linque : Water

Ettelen : foreign


	7. Intruder

**Chapter Seven **

At 1:15 AM, Rhiannon's X-5 pulled into the garage. Its passengers were full of Denny's, wet, and one of them was shivering. Rhiannon walked through the door connecting the house to the kitchen, the same door Melissa had walked into six years ago, and stopped dead. The house was completely destroyed, broken glass everywhere and food smeared onto the walls and into the carpet. Legolas came up behind her and looked around quickly, before stepping in and pulling her behind him. She pulled on her flip-flops quickly, and he did the same. He went around the downstairs, and looked quickly into each of the rooms to make sure no one was there. They went upstairs and looked into the rooms until two were left, Rhiannon's and Legolas' guest room. When they arrived in the master bedroom, the only damage was written in what looked like blood on the wall above the bed. There, in large bold letters, were the words, 'Don't forget'. Rhiannon's eyes, already expanded to saucer capacity, filled with tears.

"I knew it," she whispered. "I knew he'd come back." Then an icy thought came to Rhiannon, and she stepped forward from behind Legolas.

"Avariel? Come out baby, come see mama. Ava.." she continued in a singsong voice, walking around the room until she reached the guest room and opened the door, where she stopped dead.

"Not you." Rhiannon watched, frozen, as Adam straightened up, released Avariel, and walked toward her. "Get away from me. You're not supposed to be here, you can't do this!" Her voice was getting frantic, and she watched Avariel go to her side and pace back and forth in front of her in a protective sort of stance.

"Why not? Why can't I be here? A court order? Who the fuck cares about a goddamn court order? It hasn't physically stopped me, has it? Just a piece of paper." He ran a finger up her bare arm. "And look at you, you slut. Look at how you're dressed." Rhiannon looked down at her bikini and towel.   
"And obviously," he continued, indicating the open closet full of male clothing, "You have a guest. And how dare you to try to condemn me for what I did." She was shaking, tears rolling down her face. Nobody had ever terrified her like he did.  
"Stop your blubbering, you disgusting bitch. So you had me sent to prison. Were you happy while I was gone? Hmm? Were you? Tell me how you felt while I was eating gruel for five years. TELL ME!"

He raised his hand and swiped down, but he was grabbed before he made contact. Legolas' hand tightened around his wrist, and several cracks resounded through the room. Adam's face took on one of agony and surprise as he watched his wrist shatter through his tears. Legolas pushed Rhiannon behind himself and stepped forward, watching the moisture well in Adam's eyes. Rhiannon picked up Avariel and checked to see if she was all right. Legolas let go of Adam, and punched him squarely in the face, knocking him down and breaking his jaw. While Adam cowered on the floor, Legolas briefly looked back at Rhiannon to make sure she was okay. Besides her tears, she was fine, and he looked back down at Adam.

"I do not remember you being invited into this home." He pulled him up by his collar, and swung him around to crash him against the wall. "How dare you touch her?" He hissed angrily. Adam was looking back at him, fear and weakness in his eyes. "Tell me." Rhiannon went to her room to call the police.

"911 Emergency Hotline, is there an emergency?" Rhiannon took a deep breath and began.

"Yes, there is. My ex-boyfriend has broken into my house, and he has become violent."

"And are you still at home?"

"Yes," Rhiannon said, noting how wavery her voice was.

"Are you able to get out without risking your life?" Rhiannon wondered if she should lie.

"Yes,"

"You need to get out right now. Give me your address."

"248 Windswept Avenue."

"There is help on its way, they'll be there in only a few minutes. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you?" Rhiannon really wanted to know what was going on upstairs, and couldn't let the operator know she had gone back, so she replied,

"No, I think I'm okay. I have someone with me." She then punched in Melissa's number and rushed back to Legolas' room.

"Hello?" Melissa had been asleep, but when she heard the crashes and grunts as Adam was slammed into various things, she immediately asked,

"Rhiannon? Sweetie, are you okay? What's that in the background?"

"Missy," Rhiannon whispered, "Adam's here."

"He's **not**! I'm on my way over right now. I'm bringing my pepper spray! Did he touch you? Melissa, I swear to God, I'll kill him my damned self if he touched you."

"No, no," she whispered. "He didn't touch me, Legolas stopped him."

"I knew that Elf was going to be good for something. I'm still coming over. Be right there, okay?" Rhiannon nodded, knowing her friend couldn't see her. A lamp crashed and glass sprayed, and Adam was pushed and fell onto the carpet. Blood escaped from his hands as he landed on the shards, and Rhiannon looked at him. Blood oozed from his mouth, nose, cheek, hands, and the inside of his wrist near his veins where he had sliced to get the blood for writing on her wall. The sanguine fluid still flowed freely from that wound. It was everywhere, and Rhiannon let out a choked sob, covering her mouth with one hand. Legolas stopped, and left, leaving Adam to leak fluids on the floor, and began to go downstairs with his arms around Rhiannon's shoulders, who was cradling Avariel. As they arrived downstairs, the doorbell rang and Rhiannon rushed to the door, expecting the emergency staff to come in and arrest Adam, but when she opened the door, Melissa was standing there, face ashen and hair in rarely seen tangles.

"Rhiannon! Are you okay?! Is he here?! Where is he? Is he upstairs? That bastard!" She started upstairs, then saw Legolas standing a few feet away, and ran up and grabbed him in a hearty embrace. She plopped a huge kiss on his cheek.

"ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouforsavingherLegolasIamsogladyou'rehere thankyouIthoughtIhadlostmybestfriendwhenIheardwhatwasgoingoninthebackgroundandIcan'tbelievethathecamebackohmigod!" Rhiannon walked up and pried Melissa off of Legolas, to discover she was crying.

"Oh God, I can't believe this shit!" She started weeping, and Rhiannon held out her arms, which Melissa wandered into.

"Melissa, you always have been way dramatic. He attacked **me**, trashed **my** house, is still _in_ **my** house, and he tried to attack **me** again, and **I'm** comforting **you**!" she noted, while rubbing Melissa's back one-handed. The police and ambulance riders rushed in through the open door, and asked,

"Is this the woman who's been attacked?" indicating Melissa, who was shaking now.

"Um, no, that's me." They looked at each other, and back to Rhiannon. "He's upstairs, in the second door to your left."

"Rhiannon, you guys should come and stay with me. Matt couldn't possibly mind, and just …please. You can't stay here, obviously, and where else are you going to go? Come stay with me." Rhiannon knew she wanted her to be there so she wouldn't worry about her the entire night. She looked at Legolas with question in her eyes, and he said,   
"It is not my decision to make, Silmeamin." She turned to Melissa, and said,

"Alright, we'll come. But Avariel is coming, too." Melissa sighed, and said,

"Fine. Demon Cat can come." Rhiannon smiled, handed the cat to Legolas, and went to get them clothes for the stay.


	8. What We've ALL Been Waiting For

**Chapter Eight**

At 2:27 AM, Rhiannon and Melissa both pulled up toA Melissa's house. Legolas, Melissa, and Rhiannon walked up to the door, and walked into a pitch-black house. Legolas heard footsteps coming from father back in the house, and turned to Melissa.

"Melissa, you are married?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Matt McLaughlin stepped into the room.

"Baby, what's going on?" He came over and hugged Rhiannon. "How are you?"  
Rhiannon always had a bit of trouble looking Matt in the eyes. One of the first times they had encountered each other involved him pulling her murderous boyfriend off of her.

"Not so good, actually." Matt looked quizzically at his wife.

"Honey, Adam came and trashed Rhiannon's house… you remember Adam?" Matt rolled his eyes as if to say, 'I only testified at the trial that sent him to jail.' Melissa continued. " I told her she could stay here. Is that alright?"  
Rhiannon watched their loving relationship with a bit of envy. She'd never experienced that type of security before.

"Of course, it's fine." He turned to Rhiannon and said, "Are you okay?"

"I think I will be, yes. Thanks for asking and everything else…"

"Of course. Now, " he said, rubbing his hands and looking from Legolas to Rhiannon, "are you two gonna share the free room, or should I pull out the couch?" Rhiannon looked at Legolas.

"Again, Silmeamin, this is not my decision to make." Rhiannon looked to Matt.

"We'll share, I guess." Melissa raised an eyebrow.

Rhiannon was laying on one side of a king mattress, with a sleeping Avariel on her stomach, and was watching her rise and fall with her breathing. She had showered to clear her mind. Legolas was showering to wash off Adam's blood.  
Melissa had insisted on Rhiannon borrowing her new 'Twistie Turban', insisting that it did wonders for drying hair. She had smiled at Melissa's obvious attempt to give her something else to think about, but now Rhiannon laid there, hair up in the terrycloth turban, cat on her stomach and a faraway look on her face.

"Silmeamin, think no more on tonight's events." She looked up, and there was Legolas clad only in a towel, and looking at her worriedly. She gulped, and spoke.

"Oh, I wasn't.. I was trying to, um, distract myself." He walked to his side of the bed, looked thoughtful, and said,

"I was thinking that tonight would be a good night to attempt sleeping in the nude." Rhiannon shot up, Avariel rolled on her back into her lap, and she looked at him, terrified. Every muscle in her body was tense.

"Wh-what?" Legolas laughed.

"You said that you needed distraction." Rhiannon blushed furiously as Legolas picked out sleepwear and retreated into the bathroom.

'_Teasing mother…'_

He came back out, topless as usual, and climbed into bed. Rhiannon was still slightly ashen-faced. He looked at her.

"Are you going to make use of the bed sheets?" He asked. She looked at him, still a bit shaken.

"What?" Legolas indicated Rhiannon's position on top of the covers. "Oh, that. Um, I guess I should.." She held Avariel out to him and stood up. She let her hair cascade over her shoulders and slowly slid under the crisp covers. The cat left the room, huffy at being woken up.

"You know, when I first got her, she slept on my stomach for weeks. Then I let her in the backyard just once and she stopped sleeping there for some reason. But she always sleeps on my stomach when one of us isn't feeling well. It's… comforting." She turned to Legolas. "Thank you so much. I mean, I know Melissa's already thanked you," she rolled her eyes and Legolas smiled at her, "but I want to thank you because you've helped me so much. I've been so afraid of him, and now I feel… safe. Thank you." Legolas shifted, and she felt flannel brush against her leg.

"I know that you would do the same thing if our positions were switched, Silmeamin. I would do anything to protect you." Rhiannon looked away, and Legolas touched a hand to her face and turned her back towards him. "You do not deserve such treatment." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she sniffed.

"I know," she said. Legolas pulled her into his arms, and she sniffed again, and breathed in deeply, intoxicated by his scent. She tilted her head up and looked into his piercing eyes. He was smiling at her, and he bent down and touched his lips to hers lightly, a tiny spark. He brushed her lips, covering her body with his, and grazed the line of her face leading to her neck. He kissed her, once, twice, and went back to her mouth, this time with a deeper kiss. She opened her mouth against his, and felt herself tingle as he swept her away with one kiss. She tugged at her oversized shirt, wishing desperately to be disrobed. But she felt Legolas' hands entwine hers as the kiss ended.

"Quendelie are not so rushed about the act of love, Silmeamin," He whispered into her ear. "Be not so hurried. There are many hours left until we are expected."

She shivered as she felt his mouth on her neck again, grazing and kissing. Her arms went around his neck, and hands tangled in his hair as she arched up against him. He took hold of her hips and ran his hands up her sides and back down, stopping at the hem of her shirt. It went up inch by inch, and with every part of skin liberated, Rhiannon shivered until finally, her breasts were uncovered and she shut her eyes against his face, not wanting to see him as he looked at her, but he spoke to her through the fog that was quickly filling her mind.

"Open your eyes, Rhiannon." She complied, and looked at him nervously. Legolas' eyes locked onto hers and he spoke softly.

"Vanimle sila tiri, Silmeamin." She could hear in his voice that that was a good thing. More shivers came as he left a trail of kisses to the spot directly between her breasts, and she moaned softly when she felt his mouth close over one of her nipples. She felt his hand on the other, and she arched against him again. He blew on her wet nipple, and she felt it go painfully hard while he switched, kissing his way back to the starting point and kissing another trail back up to kiss her again. Her arms were around his shoulders, fingers at the nape of his neck encouraging him on. He took hold of her waist and held her down as he began to move against her. She gasped and tried to move, but she was restricted. He went harder, and she began to croon lightly, breathing heavily.  
She touched her lips to his mouth and kissed his cheek bones, planting sweet kisses on his neck and caressing the tiny spot where his neck and ear met. She felt him go faster when she touched her mouth to it, and she kissed it again, flicking her tongue over the sensitive spot and feeling him go faster, building up her own release. He slowed, and she airily kissed his eyelids as she came, her entire body relaxing. His hands on her waist slid down the pajamas, and her eyes shut again. Legolas kissed back down to her chest, and a low moan escaped her lips, her hands clenching the sheets. Legolas looked up at her, moving lower to massage her stomach with his tongue before moving lower. She gasped and arched her back when she felt him touch her. Both hands tangled themselves in his hair and held him down while he kissed, brushed, and rubbed that secret, most precious part of her. She was building again, and tiny gasps and moans escaped as he continued his ministrations. He stopped again, and moved up between her, sans flannels. Feeling him so intimately against her, Rhiannon opened her eyes to see his, darkened with craving.

"Are you ready, Silmeamin?" She shivered at the sound of his voice, cutting through her haze. "Do you want this?" She nodded her head. She felt him slowly penetrate her. She looked at him with half lidded eyes, and nodded her head a second time. He tried to slowly push past, but he heard her hiss in pain and he looked down at her face, contorted in pain. It had been years. He grabbed her hips and plunged in with one stroke. Rhiannon arched her back and sank back down, hissing in pain a second, longer time. Tears filled her eyes as the sharp pain shot through her, and she shut them tight. Legolas looked down to see her face screwed tightly, and he whispered to her.

"Silmeamin, do not cry. I will not move, the pain will stop shortly." She realized she was holding her breath and exhaled slowly through her nose. She felt his lips touch her brow, and she sighed at the sweetness of the gesture despite herself.  
She breathed in deeply ten times, and tried to move to see if it still hurt. She was hardly surprised to find the opposite. Legolas pulled out of her, and pushed back in, eliciting a sharp intake of breath. He did it again, and she began to arch up into him as he came crashing back into her. Then he slowed, and lowered himself down, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and they slowly began to rock together, lips brushing. He took her hands from around him and their fingers enmeshed. He held her hands down to the mattress, and they made and kept direct eye contact as he went to a fevered pitch, thrusting in and out more and more quickly. He thrust one more time, and she raised her body into him. One hand went around to the small of her back and their heads touched lightly as he came inside of her, and she drifted from her peak back down to the bed, his head resting on her torso near her shoulder blades. She ran her fingers through his hair absently as she fell asleep.


	9. Of Bubble Baths and French Fries

Chapter Nine

"Silmeamin." Rhiannon rolled over slowly, and groaned. Legolas touched her face, and whispered again. "Silmeamin, wake up. Wake up!" She slowly opened her eyes, and was met with blue eyes less than a foot away from her, face shadowed by a light blue, almost gray background. The sun wasn't up yet. She jumped, and blinked a few times. Legolas smiled at her and said,

"I have run you a bath. I thought that you might want to-"

"Ahh!" She was painfully reminded of her actions a few hours ago. She was sore, and the events of last night - Adam included - flashed through her mind.

"-soak for a time, and clear your mind."

Rhiannon had sat up, and he was interrupted with a loud groan. In her opinion, she'd had plently of mind-clearing experiences last night, but she nodded, covered herself in the sheets, noticing his lack of clothing immediately, and took his outstretched hand, lightly hissing in pain again. Legolas scooped her up and carried her into the bathroom, knowing she was blushing at her condition when she thought he couldn't see. When her feet landed on the tile, she opened her wincing eyes and gasped. There were candles lit all around the bathroom - about thirty of them- and rose petals floated gently along in the water, completely covering the view of the bottom. The air was lightly perfumed with the heady scent of roses. Legolas smiled.

"I think I got a little… carried away, Silmeamin. But it is truly interesting, the way the lotsë react to the hot water…" Rhiannon giggled, and then stopped suddenly.

"Did you say hot water? Excuse me, please." She gave Legolas a kiss on the cheek and dropped the sheet, stepping into the tub and sending swirling rose petals to attach themselves to the sides, settling back when she had gotten settled on her back in the steamy water. She sighed.

"Elves do everything better," Legolas laughed, and she blushed profusely. "Oh. I didn't mean THAT. I meant, I can never get the water this hot…. Maybe it's this house... Oh God." She went silent and sunk lower into the rose scented water. Legolas picked up the sheet, folded it and placed it on the toilet seat, and sat down.

"Are human women always so embarrassed all the time?"

"No. Not all the time."

Legolas laughed, and bent down to kiss her forehead.

"Thank you, Legolas. This is amazing." He placed a kiss on her lips and left.

She watched him, and closed her eyes, realizing what a fixture he had become in her life. She couldn't imagine being without him, something that genuinely scared her.

Rhiannon stepped quietly down the carpeted stairs in her pink, fluffy robe and slippers, careful not to wake Melissa and Matt. When she got to the kitchen however, she discovered them about to engage in an activity that most certainly was not cooking.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" She said exasperatedly, "Don't you two have a room for that type of thing?"

Melissa quickly hopped off of the counter and pulled down her nightgown, facing Rhiannon, who stood in a military like pose with her arms crossed.

"Actually, Rhiannon," Melissa started, "we have a HOUSE for it!" Rhiannon cringed.

"Ew. Melissa, that's gross. One thing's for damn sure, I'm not eating off that table." She eyed the kitchen table warily, backing back upstairs through the kitchen staircase. "Legolas and I are going out for breakfast, so you can get kinky in the kitchen in peace now, I guess." She made to start up the stairs, and stopped and turned around. "Oh, but before I go, do you by chance have any acid for me to burn my eyes out with?"

"You'd rather eat fast food? And don't pretend as though I won't have to change the sheets, Miss Thing." Melissa asked, completely ignoring the tease.

"Whatever," Rhiannon replied with a blush. "Anyway, pure fat and salt is much better than the dried-out remnants of your mixed bodily fluids, Melissa." She shuddered, made a face, and started back upstairs to get dressed.

Rhiannon pulled through the drive through at McDonalds, only to find that they were still on the breakfast menu, and would be until 11:30.

"Alright, never mind." She pulled through, Legolas looking at her in confusion.

"What was that, Silmeamin?"

"Hmm? What was what?" She looked at him through sunglass-covered eyes.

"The metal box you were speaking into."

"Metal box… Oh! That was the drive through speaker. You talk into it, and tell the person what you want, and then they make it, and you pull up and get your food and go on your merry way to crash your car while trying to stuff your face with lard, and drive at the same time, and I get a new case."

"I see."

"Anyway, we're not going to do that just yet. I refuse to subject you to the horror that is the McDonald's breakfast menu. You will eat the french-fries, however. This is my decree." Legolas nodded.

"And now, Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, we have an hour to kill. What shall we do?"

"I could teach you some Elvish words." Rhiannon gasped in delight at the idea of messing with Melissa's mind by speaking Elvish with Legolas in front of her. After all, she was scarred from the scene she had witnessed earlier that morning.

"I'd like a number three, a number six, supersize the fries on both," she turned to Legolas. "You do eat meat, right?"

"Yes, at times."

"Perfect." She turned back to the speaker, and continued. "Two Diet Cokes, and one of those little soft-serve ice cream cones. A vanilla one." The speaker on the other side mumbled something inaudible, and Rhiannon pulled up. She gave a twenty to the teenaged cashier, wondered how much of the grease on the bag was from his hair and face, got her change back, and drove off, eating her ice-cream cone.

"Alright. This is a hamburger," Rhiannon began, taking out a wrapped burger and pointing to it. She and Legolas were sitting in the parking lot of a park, music on, and Rhiannon sitting cross-legged in her seat, with the seat slid all the way back and slightly reclined. "It's like a sandwich, but better." Legolas looked at her, confused. "Oh, never mind. Look, here's how you eat it." She took a bite. "Okay, taste it." She handed it to him, and he took a bite, chewed slowly, and swallowed. She looked at him expectantly. He nodded his approval, and she smiled. "Okay, now this is a McNuggget. It's chicken, sort of…. Okay, we won't go into that. Just dip it, and eat it." She demonstrated, and he followed her example. He chewed, and looked at her as if she were crazy.

"This is not chicken, Silmeamin. It does not taste bad, that is true, but the taste is more that of a-"

"Oh please Legolas, don't. I don't want to know. Don't ruin McNuggets for me, please Legolas, I'm begging you."

"Alright. I shall say nothing."

"Thank you. I love introducing the lost to the wonders of fat. Okay, now here's the crème de la crème. French fries." She took one out, marveled at its beauty, and quickly put it in her mouth. Her head dropped back and she let out her breath deeply, and recovered, to see Legolas looking at her very strangely.

"Okay, now you try." He looked at her suspiciously.

"I do not think I shall, Silmeamin."

"Why not?" She was disappointed, everyone was supposed to love McDonald's fries.

"That thing has bewitched you." He was met with the ringing laughter of his female companion.

"The french-fry has **not **bewitched me!" She pushed one at his lips, and then got an idea. "Come on! Here comes the airplane, ready to make a landing…" His curiosity came over him.

"What is an airplane?" The instant he opened his mouth, she stuffed the fry inside.

"Chew!" Legolas glared at her, and ate the fry. "Well?"

"They are suitable." He reached into the bag for more. She smiled triumphantly.

"Legolas, remind me to introduce you to the wonders of pizza…"

He looked over at her with a mouthful of fries.

She sighed. "I'm gonna get you all chubby, I can tell already."


	10. Facing The Aftermath

**Chapter Ten**

It was like she couldn't help it.

She watched him while he didn't seem to be aware, for once, that she was doing so. He was staring out the window at the children playing on the jungle gym, and smiling faintly. She almost scolded herself, but couldn't bear to attract his attention.  
His interaction with her world would definitely affect him when he was back in his, and she didn't want to be responsible for any pain caused to him. She also didn't want any pain for herself, but they had a connection. A connection threatened by the unsure future, one that went beyond the obvious bearing of touch. She almost felt his presence, knew when he was content, when he was worried, definitely knew when he was angry. And that scared her, because their knowledge of each other's existences didn't have a timely history for their bond to be understood in a practical sense for her. She needed practicality in her life, it was the base of her profession, the way she had always lived her life -since childhood, even- but for all she knew, he could pop back out of her life that second or the next minute, and have her believing it was all the most beautiful dream she had ever had. The thought terrified and saddened her. A tear rolled down her cheek, and it hit the leather seat, making a soft noise. He looked over at her.

"Silmeamin, what has happened?" His face was one of concern. "Why do you weep? It makes me sad to see it." He leaned over and placed soft kisses on her face, and pushed her dark curls back from her face, and stayed his hand.  
"Your features intrigue me, Rhiannon. I have never seen one with your shades before. I have seen darker hair than yours, however. Though never in curls. You are so different from anything I have ever experienced, and yet stunning at the same time. Your beauty is compared to the Undomiel, not in similarity, but in value." She looked up at him as he spoke, her given name sounding strange on his tongue.

"You never call me that anymore." He looked down at her.

"I know this."

"Why not? I've been meaning to ask you."

"Because my name for you is something that we share only with one another. It is special to me."

"I like it. It still makes my stomach flutter when you say it. Every time you say it." She looked up at him again from looking at her hands, shy at her confession.

"I love your name, Rhiannon. You should as well. What does it mean?"

"Oh. Well, um, it means 'Great Queen'." She looked up at him, smiling sheepishly. She almost expected him to be smiling back at her lovingly, but he was looking back at her with darkened eyes.  
She had worked out for herself (being the intellectual that she was) that his eyes went darker when he was fervent about something happening, and she flashed back to the color of his eyes the night before, both when Adam had tried to hit her and when they made eye contact while making love, and wasn't sure if the color now was due to a positive or negative influence. Surely he couldn't be angry with her? She was relatively afraid to ask. It happened that she didn't need to, because his eyes cleared, but not before he placed a lingering kiss on her parted lips. When her mind cleared, she sat up and glanced at the clock near her radio functions. Three o'clock.

"I can't believe we've been gone for almost six hours!" Legolas leaned over and spoke lowly into her ear.

"They need their time together, Silmeamin," It was reassuring to be 'his starlight' again, but the way he spoke sent shivers down her spine.  
"It is not hard to understand," he added. She brought herself back to reality through the misty cloud that formed whenever he spoke that way to her, so close and low in her ear, and started the car. They sat there for five or so minutes before she felt ready to drive, and pulled out of the parking lot.

Rhiannon pulled up to Melissa's house, and she and Legolas walked in carrying their crumpled paper bags and grease stained napkins. She opened the door, and Melissa dashed up to her immediately.

"They just called about Adam!" She started breathlessly. Legolas stepped up next to Rhiannon, listening intently to Melissa's words and focusing on her face.

"Are you kidding me?" Rhiannon gasped. Melissa held up a finger, and bent over slightly with one hand on her knee, signaling her need for air. After a minute, she continued.

"Nope. He's practically dead, y'know. They don't know if he's gonna make it…" Rhiannon's eyes widened, but not without a glint of satisfaction and justification evident in them, and a small twitch at the corner of her mouth. Then 'The Lawyer Within' spoke.

"Okay. Well, If he does die… he was trespassing in my house, not only intruding without invitation, but also in violation of the restraining order put in place against him, so, " She turned and looked up at Legolas. "If it was me, then everything would be in the clear… but since it's Legolas.. I don't know. Besides, what are we going to do if they ask for his name!? He can't just say, 'Legolas of Mirkwood'. Shit. It's not fair! He needs papers, and stuff like that… Though I think if he had that he would be clear because he was defending me. Yeah, That's how I remember it… But the papers are what's going to be hard. Where can we say he's from?" She was pacing, but stopped and looked down, chewing her thumbnail at this question.

"The UK," Melissa chimed in. Both Legolas and Rhiannon looked at her. "What? UK boys are HOT!"

"Missy, are you implying that Legolas is-"

"Hell, yeah!" Melissa interrupted, looking at Legolas and raising her eyebrows playfully. Rhiannon took a deep breath and massaged her temples, before she stopped suddenly and looked up at Legolas.

"I think I have a plan."

"Okay. So I'm relatively sure that nothing they could test and link to Legolas was left at the scene." Rhiannon had been pulling Legolas' hair for little over half an hour, and looking at her hands to see if the blond strands had come out on her hands. "Christ, you could sew with this stuff!" She ran a hand through Legolas' hair, and bent over him and looked at his face upside-down.

"You don't sweat, and you didn't bleed, right?" He nodded, and she smiled, their foreheads touching lightly. "Perfect." They stayed that way for a moment, gazing solidly into each other's eyes, until she stood up straight, and walked around. Melissa was sitting next to Matt, who had joined them, and said,

"As long as we can make them believe it wasn't Legolas, then we're in the clear. It will be harder if Adam dies, though… and we," she continued, indicating Legolas and herself, "will have to talk to him, make sure he doesn't feel compelled to talk about him."

"Sweetie, you can't do that!" Melissa stood quickly in protest.

"What the hell do you mean, I can't do that?!"  
"It's too soon! You're not ready!" Rhiannon walked up to her best friend until she was 5 inches away from her face.

"Melissa. Not only CAN I do this, I am GOING to do this. It's beyond my safety and me anymore, do you realize that? Others are affected." She glanced quickly at Legolas and looked back to her friend, fire in her eyes.

"I need to do this, Missy. Everyone is babying me, protecting me, and completely ignoring the fact that I need to move on with my life!" She left the room with tears in her eyes, and retreated to the guest room.

Five minutes later, after sitting in complete silence with a downcast Melissa and a shocked Matt, Legolas followed her up the stairs.

Legolas entered the room to see Rhiannon on the phone, nodding her head and humming 'mm hmm,'. She finished her conversation with, "Thank you so much. I'll be by to see him later, very soon. Yes. Visiting hours are when?" She scribbled on the legal pad on her lap. "Alright. Again, thank you for your help. Good-bye." She looked up at him, eyes slightly red from crying, and smiled.

"Get dressed. We're going to see Adam." She helped him pick something out, with a hat that hid his hair and ears well, and dressed herself in a white knee-length skirt, denim jacket with a black tank underneath, and black heeled Mary Janes, grabbed her sunglasses, her legal pad, a black handbag, and keys and went downstairs with Legolas posterior. The door closed behind them just as Melissa reached the door. Before she decided to rush out after them in lieu of waiting for their return, she heard tires squeal, announcing their departure.


	11. A Dish Best Served Cold

**Chapter Eleven**

Rhiannon pulled into a slot in the hospital parking lot, one nearest the exit, and she and Legolas climbed out of the car. Rhiannon looked up at the building, and turned to Legolas.

"I don't want you to come in with me, just in case anyone who does not need to see you does… How are you at climbing?"

"Quite good." Legolas replied, rolling his eyes at her.

"Alright then. I'm going to go into his room, and look out the window for you. When you climb up to the window, I need you to be as careful as you possibly can. Don't let ANYONE see you, Legolas. I know you can do that, you've sneaked up on me often enough. Be silent, and try to blend in or something." Legolas laughed sardonically in response. " And I **know** the hospital is white stucco. Stop your cackling."

"I laugh, lady. An Elf does not cackle." Rhiannon fixed him with a look.

"I'm going in."

Rhiannon walked into the pristine building, and went up to the receptionist.

"Excuse me, but could you help me find a patient?"

"Name?"

"Adam Benson." The burly receptionist typed into his computer.

"He's in the critical injury wing. Are you family?"

"I'm… his fiancée." Just saying it made her sick.

"Okay. It's on the fifth floor." Legolas immediately went to her thoughts. Maybe she should just drop it. That really was a bit high to climb up.

"Miss?" The receptionist's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? You look nauseous." The fact that she had absolutely no acting experience had landed her in Principles of Law as opposed to Acting in high school. She regretted the decision now.

"I'm fine. Just a bit nervous about seeing my Adam so hurt… Thank you for your concern." She turned to the elevator before her could offer to go with her.

She walked into the room with Adam's name in the little placate on a piece of blue paper. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him there, face broken, yellow, black and blue with his bruises. There was cast and plaster covering his arms and one of his legs was in traction. He was on a breathing machine, and his heartbeat was being monitored. He looked to be asleep, and he was wincing in pain.  
Rhiannon smiled faintly. It reminded her of the pictures they'd taken of her when she was still slipping in and out of consciousness. She went to the window, and saw two things. A large, tall pine tree next to the window, and Legolas leaning against her car. She waved and faintly saw his head snap up to the window. He crept to the tree, and jumped to the lowest branch. She watched the tree as he climbed, but it wasn't moving. She couldn't see him, which she acknowledged as good, but at the same time, she was terrified. She began to count how many laws they were breaking. She was on thirty-three when she was the sign on the lawn - "DO NOT WALK ON THE GRASS". She sighed and added that to the list, when a blonde head popped in front of her, causing her to jump back and fall.

Legolas climbed nimbly into the room and scooped Rhiannon up, placing a kiss on her forehead as he set her upright. She smiled and looked up at him seconds before he snapped his head to Adam, who was now looking at him with eyes widened in fear. He tried to reach for the nurse's call button, but Rhiannon snapped it up before he could touch it, and locked the door.

"Adam, I think it's time we had a little talk." She walked over to him, and bent over the side rail of the hospital bed, close to his face.

"You will not tell anyone about who exactly did this to you. Because if you do, I promise he will be back to do it again. And worse. And what's more, I will help. " Adam's eyes flickered over to Legolas, who was looking at him with a stony, yet challenging expression. "Promise me, Adam. Say it. Not that your word is worth shit in the first place." She was getting angrier, as memories came rushing back to her. He couldn't scare her anymore, not with Legolas behind her and Adam himself rendered immobile.

"Are you going to tell anyone who really put you in this condition?" Adam didn't move, possibly because it caused him great pain. She wanted it even more at the realization. She smacked him across the face, on the most pronounced bruise she could see, the yellow and green of an infection already mixed with the purplish blue of the bruise itself.  
"You bastard. I'll ask you once more." She reached up and pulled the tube out of the bottom of the oxygen machine. Adam's breathing slowed unaided, and his heartbeat sped up from his fear. Rhiannon covered the tube with her thumb, cutting off his total air supply as he was still connected to them. Her heart was racing.

"Are you going to tell? Are you?!" Adam's head began to shake, mechanical beeps filling the room as his heart sped up faster.

"That's right, you're not. And do **not** forget it, you disgusting parasite." She wiped her fingerprints off with a tissue from the box near the bed and re-attached the tube.

"We had a lovely chat, didn't we?" Adam nodded. "It was only us, wasn't it?" Another nod. "You can go to Hell. I don't ever want to see you again. You're going back to that cage and your new girlfriend Butch, or even better, you'll die. But I will never see you again. I promise you that."  
She unlocked the door and placed the call button back on the bedside table, when Legolas looked towards the door and immediately climbed out of the window. His fingertips had just disappeared when the nurse in her rubber shoes and cat-decorated scrubs came in and announced the end of visiting hours. Rhiannon patted Adam's arm, squeezing one of his bruises, and watched the tears come to his eyes.

"Don't worry darling! I'll keep you in my thoughts." She served him with a sugary sweet voice and a beaming smile. As she walked past the nurse, she turned and said, "Take care of him, won't you? I wouldn't ever want any harm to come to him."

Rhiannon's adrenaline was pumping rapidly as she walked past the receptionist once more. A tear slid down her cheek, but he reasoned it was from seeing her darling paramour in such pain. She made it out the door, and let out the breath she'd been holding since arriving at the first floor in the stomach-turning elevator, and went in a trot to her car. She slid into the driver's seat, looked at Legolas, who was already in the passengers side, and slammed her head onto the steering wheel, evoking a horn blast that echoed through the lot. Tears streamed down her face, happy tears, and she looked up at Legolas again.

"I am woman, hear me… whimper and sob." She ran her hands across her cheeks and started the car. "Let's go home."

But as they pulled out of the parking lot, a thought came to her and she asked,

"Did you roll your eyes at me earlier?"


	12. Get You Some, Girlfriend!

Chapter 12

The X5 pulled up to Melissa's house, and Rhiannon rushed in, intent on saying something. Whether it was to gloat at her success or apologize for her outburst she wasn't sure. But when she walked in and saw Melissa slumped on the couch, the same place she had been when Rhiannon had rushed out of the room three hours ago, she knew that only an apology come escape her lips. She hated it.

"Missy." Melissa looked up, her eyes puffy and red from crying and her platinum hair in disarray. "I'm so sorry. Really, I am. I didn't mean to yell at you like that." Melissa stood, sniffling as she did so.

"No, it's all my fault! I should never have tried to keep you from doing it. You were just protecting yourself, and I knew you needed to get some closure about the whole thing… I just wasn't ready!" Rhiannon smiled through the tears that had filled her eyes.

"You're crazy, Melissa." Melissa let out a choked sob.

"I know!" They embraced, tears flowing freely. Melissa pulled back, sniffed, and inquired,

"Did it at least work?" Rhiannon was silent for a pensive moment before replying,

"Duh."

Later, after delivered pizza and blown off dishes, Rhiannon climbed the stairs by herself and took a shower. When she stepped out, there was Legolas, in his usual topless pajamas, looking out of the guest bedroom window at the stars and holding Avariel. She went behind him, and just as she went to place her hands on his sides, he turned around and their eyes met. She instantly knew something was wrong.

"Legolas? What's wrong, what's happened? Are you alright?" She was met with a sigh, one that calmed her fears but did not absolve them.

"I do not know, Silmeamin. There is so much that I wonder about in my home. Is it possible that everything has simply continued without me, or do you think things there have paused?" He set Avariel down.

"Jeeze.. I couldn't really say, I guess." Legolas pulled her into him, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Did I ever tell you that my people, the Edheliath of former Greenwood, were to sail to Valinor very soon at the time of my departure? I was very torn of whether or not I should go, or stay. But I think that now, if given the choice, I would stay, and wait through thousands of years until we could meet again."  
"That's the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me." She was terrified to say it, but the words were fighting themselves up, slowly but surely. The churning in her stomach transferred to the enormous lump in her throat, and she felt constricted. With a huge swallow, she forced it down.

"Legolas? Will you tell me about Valinor? What is it?" Avariel slinked out of the room as Legolas pulled Rhiannon over to the bed, and sat her down, walking around the furnishing to sit on the other side. She turned to him, looking up at him with fascinated eyes. He had a conflicted look in his eyes, but before she could inquire about it, he began.

"Valinor is the place that the Edheliath of Middle Earth went when they were leaving the world." At the look on her face, he added, "'Edheliath' means Elves." Her face made a silent O in comprehension. Then she asked,

"But why did the Elves leave?" He looked at her wistfully, and answered,

"Because it was being destroyed. The Elves were the First Born of Illuvatar and the Valar, Silmeamin, and then men and the other races of Middle Earth were created." Rhiannon made a mental note to ask about Illuvatar, the Valar, and the other races, but kept silent. "The Elves were alone for many years, and through their deep connection with nature, and their love of Arda, Middle Earth flourished. But when the other races came, most especially men, their greed and lack of care about Arda - the Earth, Silmeamin- brought gradual destruction to Middle Earth, and the Elves could only watch while it happened. Finally, they all left Middle Earth, to sail to Valinor. Because we are immortal, Valinor was to be our final resting place." His eyes had wandered to the ceiling. When their eyes met again, Rhiannon's were filled with tears. Legolas smiled at her and took her face into his hands.

"Shed no more tears, Silmeamin. The Elves live an everlasting life in Valinor, a rich life, where they can flourish once more." He traded the tears on her cheeks for kisses.

"It's not that, Legolas. It's just that I realize what you would sacrifice for me now. From- from what you said before, I mean." He smiled again.

"I still stand by my promise. I would wait until the end of the universe to meet you again."

"Legolas, you frighten me." He looked alarmed at her admission.

"Say it is not true, Silmeamin!"

"But you do. I cannot lie. I've fallen so deeply in love with you, and you could disappear.. tomorrow! Tonight, even!" He laced her brow with kisses, and looked down into her eyes.

"I would never leave you alone of my own volition, and that is how I came to be here. I see not how I could go." It made so much sense to her that she just laid there on her side, looking at him, feeling incredibly stupid.

"Oh- of course." She couldn't seem to find her voice- she kept stuttering, and she hated it, as it was something she practiced avoiding as to sound confident in front of those she was going against in court. She continued to feel eminently daft, and along with that, she felt… heat rushing to her face as she realized that she had told Legolas that she loved him. He seemed to realize it as well. He pulled her into him and placed a kiss on the top of her head, and she hid her face on his torso directly under his head so that he might avoid discovering the faint blush that appeared on her mocha skin.

"Silmeamin," He began in a whisper. She moaned, almost painfully, and responded in a whisper of her own.

"Yes?"

"I love you more than I have ever loved anything else before in my existence." She looked up at him, feeling completely and fully fortunate, and touched her lips to his, her mind registering only his hands passing over her body and being shifted underneath the love of her life.

The next morning, feeling exhausted and ecstatic, and wondering if she had ever felt such a mixture of emotions before, being completely spent and never happier in her life, Rhiannon climbed in the altogether out of her bed, stepped over Ava, walked into the bathroom, and began her morning ritual. She brushed her teeth, and then made her way to a hot, steamy shower, thinking about the time Elves must save not having to do this… practically ever. She was figuring out the minutes of sleep extra she would have if she didn't need to unless she felt like it, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her close, wiping her mind as blank as the misty, white tile in front of her. She tried to turn, knowing his touch, but he stopped her, and leaned into her and touched his lips to her neck before whispering lowly in her ear.

"Close your eyes, Silmeamin." She did as he asked, without protest. Not only did she completely trust him, her desire was building up ever more quickly and she began to ache for her zenith. Eyes closed, she let her head fall back onto Legolas' shoulder, and when he touched his lips to her neck, she gasped rather audibly. He was like a drug, she reasoned through her cloud, and the longer she was without his touch the more she needed it. The kisses continued down her torso, causing her to tremble, until his hands were on her hips, and he placed a lingering kiss on her hip. Her knees buckled, and he stood quickly, catching her and turning her around in the process. Her eyes opened in slits, looking at him through the steam. She brought her arms around his neck and used her leverage against the tiles at her back to lift herself up and wrap her legs around his waist, consequently positioning herself directly above him. Her eyes widened slightly at the feeling of him entering her, and she closed her eyes again, gasping more quickly, along with every thrust. She felt his lips on her neck, and she turned to him and raised one hand to touch his face while she kissed him. He felt her climax as they tasted each other, and she brought his climax. Her body relaxed against the wall, again he held her up. He pulled the stopper into place and turned the nozzle halfway, causing water to gush out of the faucet, but also leaving a shower of water over them. He laid down in the tub, bringing her to rest against him. Keeping eye contact with her, he completely lathered her entire body, watching as the water rose in the tub and washed it away. He brought water over her body and rubbed the bubbles and froth over her skin, evoking soft sighs from her. She finally sat up, looking at him wistfully.

"You're going to be the death of me." He smiled impishly, and moved behind her.

"At the least, Silmeamin, it will not be a painful death." She leaned back into him and slid down his frame slightly, until her head was resting on his stomach, water still pelting them with tiny, scorching bullets of liquid. Legolas reached for the bottles of scented bath oil resting near his flaxen head, and picked a vanilla one. He drizzled it over her collarbone, placing his hands over her and smoothing it down, pausing to cherish her breasts and navel respectively. She moaned a soft moan when his fingers touched to her apex, and her hands gripped the sides of the tub. He continued his ministrations, leaving her mind numb but her body and heart buzzing and tingling with unfiltered desire. More kisses on her neck, sweet Elvish nothings in her ear, none of it registered.

"Lle naa vamina." Her hands sunk under the water, reached for him.

"Vanimle sira tiri." He was still whispering to her, but she would soon stop that. She slid back up as he touched her, groping through the water. Her hands found what they were looking for, and at the feeling of her hands on him, he took a sharp intake of breath. The air was heady and heavy on their skin, and she began stroking him, moving up and down his shaft, touching him, running fingers lightly along the underside, grazing the tip, massing the tiny rift, and she felt his hands clench on her hips, and felt him crest, coming with him at the sheer knowledge that she could bring him that much pleasure. She sighed and leaned back against him, relaxing her body.

"I love bathing."

Translations:

Lle naa vanima : You are beautiful.

Vanimle sira tiri : Your beauty shines bright


	13. The Appraisal

**Chapter 13**

After staying with Melissa and Matt for four days, Rhiannon fully believed that she and Legolas were ready to go back. She had three more days off of work, and wanted her house back to as normal as possible by that time so she didn't have to deal with it along with everything else that was going wrong with her life. At the very least, she was getting some.

The detectives had called the day before and said that they would be done with the house and rooms the next day, and she could move back in after that, and so she and Melissa went to the store to buy cleaning supplies, along with Matt, who was trying to explain the game of American football to Legolas. They were walking through the aisles, talking to each other and looking half-heartedly for cleaning supplies.

"So Rhi," Melissa began, looking over casually at her friend, "Did you like the shower?" Rhiannon sputtered and looked over at her with a frantic look splayed over her face.

"What ?!"" Melissa smiled slyly.

"Oh, you know, the water pressure from the shower head," Melissa began teasingly, "isn't it just fabulous?"

"Melissa, you know damn well that is **not** what you meant." Melissa finally let out her smile.

"Oh, alright, Matt and I heard you guys getting it on the other day…. So tell me. Are Elves better at it?"

"Yes." Rhiannon stated simply.

"Wanna let me have a go at him?" Rhiannon burst into laughter.

"No, you Elf-slut. Oh, I want that Swifer. Right there, will you get it? Thank you." They continued down the aisle, picking up packages of vacuum cleaner bags and Lysol spray, a wide, toothbrush broom and a new dustpan, and boxes upon boxes of heavy duty trash bags.

"Melissa." Rhiannon had stopped, staring ahead of her with her eyes widened.

"Hmm?" The blonde turned her head to her friend, a look of inquiry on her face.

"I think I'm going to need my walls repainted. They looked pretty badly stained… and I'll need glass replacements, and the carpet definitely needs to be replaced… I have a headache already. Not to mention that I have absolutely no food that's worth eating left. Oh, and my clothes… The only good thing I can see out of this is a trip to the mall." She forced a smile while wiping a tear drop away and continued walking towards the register, Melissa rubbing her back sympathetically .

Walking back into her house, Rhiannon knew, would be hard. But she never imagined it would be as hard as it was. If Legolas hadn't been in front of her, she would have turned tail and run. But she was looking at his derriere, and that was pleasant enough to distract her slightly until she was inside the house, Legolas now behind her, and left without a method of escape. She certainly wasn't up for being chased down by an Elf. She looked at her walls, her carpet, and her boarded up glass doors and windows. Sighing, she picked up the phone and went to the kitchen to take inventory.

After an hour, she had a glass replacement company coming out within the next hour and a half, with carpet people, and painters coming the next day. She was trying to decide if she wanted to paint the walls in the downstairs a different color as she walked around and picked up the smashed frames of her family and friends, and the larger shards of glass so that she could vacuum the hard wood, one place Adam hadn't trashed. She made a grocery list two pages long front to back, and a list of things to do, including get gas, have her car washed, and keep from having a mental breakdown. She groaned. She needed new furniture. The only rooms undisturbed were the bathroom in Legolas' room, and the coat closet by the door, though there was a blood splatter as if he'd cut his wrists as soon as he had entered. She began to hope against hope if some of that brownish stain in the kitchen wasn't balsamic vinegar, after all. She just needed to cry. But she was sick of crying, she didn't like it, and besides that was the fact she was pretty sure she had cried out her tear ducts for a few days. So she settled for unhappy groans and a Tylenol.

"Wish I had some Vicodin," she muttered, slinking onto her slashed couch with a paper cup of water and putting the other hand to her brow.

While she ran the vacuum cleaner, she watched Legolas, because he had a slight wince on his face. She finished quickly, making the house as clean as possible for the carpet men to get there. The windows and doors had already been replaced, and the painters were starting. After they arrived, she was off to the insurance company to pick up forms and then the police station to get a copy of the report so she could add it to the filing for insurance payment. Then the doorbell rang. She went to the door, assuming it was the carpet men, but when she opened the door there was a man in a suit, who had driven over in what looked like a Rolls-Royce, although she couldn't tell for sure, because it was stationed across the street.

"Can I help you?" Rhiannon asked, a look of confusion on her face.

"Are you Miss Storms?"

"Yes," Rhiannon replied slowly.

"I am an appraiser, sent here by Mr. and Mrs. Benson," Rhiannon made the connection, and interrupted him before he could continue.

"Benson… as in Adam's parents?" The short, balding man made a slight nod.

"Yes, Miss Storms. They wish to express their extreme apologies and insist on paying for all of the damage caused by their son." Rhiannon's mouth was slightly open in shock, but she stepped aside to allow the man in. Legolas had joined her when he heard the surprise in her voice, and was now watching the man closely as he walked around.

"Excuse me?" Rhiannon began. The man looked up from his inspection of her slashed overstuffed leather couch set.

"Yes?"

"I don't wish to be rude, but, who are you?"

"Excuse me, Miss Storms, I should have introduced myself. My name is Anthony Frank." He went back to his inspection, and scribbled on his clipboard. He went through the house this way, Rhiannon and Legolas following him and Rhiannon answering his infrequent questions. Finally, he asked if she had needed to replace anything in the house.

"Well, the people from the windows and doors have already replaced the glass, and I've already paid for that, and the painters and carpet men are com-" This time, she was interrupted by a doorbell. "Excuse me, won't you Mr. Frank?" She left then, leaving the squat Mr. Frank with an unhappy Legolas, who was most kindly noting to him all the damages that he couldn't see.

Rhiannon opened the door for the carpet men, and smiled.

"Great. You guys, can go ahead and start, But I'm going to be upstairs with a damages appraiser for a few more minutes, if that's okay?" At their nods, she ascended the stairs and walked into the room, to the grateful face of Mr. Frank.

"As I was saying, painters and carpeters would be coming. The new carpets are here now." He scribbled onto his clipboard and looked at her.

"And you are sure, Ms. Storms, that the carpet needs to be restored?"

"Well, Mr. Frank, seeing as how the offspring of your employers ground perishable food, and what is most likely blood into it, yes. The carpet man who came to give an estimate also said so. I would make you a copy of said estimate, but my office has been destroyed, as well." Legolas was now glaring at him.

"Well, alright, then," Frank agreed quickly, "The Bensons have instructed me to give you ten thousand dollars more than the appraised price, for your… inconvenience," Rhiannon couldn't help but roll her eyes, but she quickly brought her attention back to Frank. "And also to round up to the nearest whole number… Mr. Benson dislikes dealing with decimals, you see."

"Dislikes, or cannot? Oh- excuse me, I've interrupted again. Please continue." Rhiannon nodded, and he continued.

"Yes, well…" He began, paused, and found his lost train of thought again. "And so, Miss Storms, I will be giving them an amount of twenty-three thousand dollars to pay to you." Rhiannon's eyes widened. She knew that Adam's family had been wealthy, but to throw away twenty-three thousand dollars **was** a bit much. She continued her nodding as Anthony Frank scribbled on his clipboard again, circled something, and turned to leave. She walked him out, murmuring a quiet 'Thank you,' as he exited. Then she went to tend to the carpeters and painters, coordinating them between the upstairs and downstairs so that they could get everything done at the same time.

She made another note on her list of things to do: Call work. There was no way she was getting back as soon as she'd planned.


	14. Realizations

**Chapter 14**

After a long, full day of shopping, Rhiannon was exhausted, not to mention aching. She had collapsed onto her floor, her ruined furniture having been taken away to the dump to accommodate the carpeters. The house exuded wet paint smell, the smell of acrylic paint that was still gooey, and she moaned, stood, with not a little difficulty, and went for the Tylenol, which was quickly replacing Melissa as her new best friend. It took the pain away but the memories… Oh, they lived on indeed…

They were walking down the tiny shopping district main street frosted with white fairy lights and full of outdoor bistros and miniscule, hidden boutiques with chic treasures buried inside, and Rhiannon's shoes clicked along the sidewalk- cement slabs of different shades, some cracked, the darkest, dingiest ones being the oldest- and she looked around for a nice place to have dinner in after a full day of shopping of all sorts : furniture, groceries, clothes, toiletries. She was leading the way, her handbag swinging, and glancing at tops or skirts in the windows of boutiques to return to buy at a later date. Women sitting at various tables from various eateries on the sidewalk were gazing after her companion as they passed, a few even whistling and catcalling. When she finally saw an interesting looking restaurant, she mentioned it to Legolas. She pointed to it.

"Legolas, what do you think of right there?" When she received no answer, she spoke again, this time turning to face him as she did.

"Well it's not like you didn't hear- Oh, God." Legolas was several yards back, facing and looking down at a gaudy woman who seemed to be mysteriously fascinated with the pockets of his jeans, especially as she was attempting to put her hands into them. Rhiannon watched him say something, turn to leave, and be quickly grabbed by the arm before she stormed over, blind with rage, The Lawyer Within returning to the surface. God, she was like the Hulk.

She looked down at the woman, and blanched slightly when she realized just how much makeup she had on.

"So what's your name?" She had put on a silly voice, but she was simultaneously thinking about carving her name into the woman's face powder with her fingernail.

"Natalie Ritter," she responded with an annoyed, I'm-humoring-you type of tone. Rhiannon was ready to tear her apart.

"Well, Miss Ritter," Rhiannon began, breaking out the professional, no-nonsense tone, "I can call you 'Miss', as I see you are… Unattached, am I correct?" She nodded at both of the bare ring fingers, and went on without a pause.  
"**As **I was saying, Miss Ritter. Have you ever heard of a little crime called sexual harassment? Well, how about this. You take your talons out of his arm, keep your paws out of his pants, and finish your salad this instant, or I will have you in court so quickly, it will blow the layers of makeup off of your dog-like face."

Her adversary looked taken aback.

"Fine, but you don't have to foam at the mouth like a rabid bitch," her friends looked approvingly at her comment, and a few gave deep 'ooooh's'. Rhiannon shrugged.

"And you don't have to pant and drool at the sight of anything in trousers. Like a rabid whore." She placed her hand into Legolas' and they walked off, to applause of the surrounding male diners.

Oh yes, how she loved Tylenol.

Avariel climbed into her lap and she smiled, stroking her head.

"Oh Ava… what are we gonna do?"

Legolas walked in from the newly restocked kitchen holding a glass of water, both of which had been purchased that day, the glass at Pier 1 Imports and the water at the grocery.

"After your new bed is delivered, we shall dress it. After the new bed is dressed, you will sleep in it, and I will continue to put things away." She answered with a groan.

"Don't want to wait." He smiled and pulled her to her feet, Avariel walking off as if insulted. She smiled back up at him, and said,

"I'm just so tired." She laid her head on his shoulder.

"I know, Silmeamin, but we are almost done with everything. Then everything can go back to.. the way that it used to be," he comforted, but when he looked at her, he realized that she was asleep. He carried her upstairs and laid her on the floor in her bedroom.

Rhiannon woke up an hour and a half later to Legolas' hands shaking her into alertness.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Silmeamin, the movers are here, and they have the new bed. I have forgotten where the new bedsheets were put, where did you store them?" She sat up in an instant, pulling her hair back from her face and keeping it there with another stray section of hair, an emergency tactic she'd learned from staying at her office all night.

"Where are the movers?" A slab of wood came into her room as she finished the sentence. She leapt up, a bit wobbly, and got out of the way immediately.

An hour later, her new canopy bed was set up and made, and she was laying in it, asleep. Her head was on Legolas' chest, and his eyes were glazed over in an unfocused, wide-eyed sleep. Her eyelids twitched in her sleep, indications of the intense dreams she was having.

Sharp pains shot through her, and she looked into eyes the exact color of Legolas', but knew it was not him. She turned in the bed, saw herself holding out a diamond. She twisted again, and felt for Legolas, and though she felt him, he wasn't there. She was becoming terrified, and began calling out in her dream for him. Each of her cries came out a whimper, and soon she was being shaken awake again, with Legolas whispering frantically to her.

"Silmeamin. Wake up, Silmeamin! Wake up!" She sat up with a start, sweat pouring down her face and her throat dry, gasping for breath. She turned slowly and looked at him, incredibly relieved when she saw him, but with a manic fear still lurking below her newfound calm.

"Something… bad is going to happen. I just know it. I can feel it." She glanced at the clock next to her bed. 2:33 am.

She sank back down into the mattress.

"Oh God… something _very_ bad is coming." Knowing there was no more sleep to be had that night, she got up to make herself a cappuccino in her new Starbucks Barista coffee maker and take even more Tylenol.

The next day, her new computer system arrived. She placed it on the desk she and Legolas had just finished putting together, and spent all day setting up the Internet and saving her work off of the emergency disks onto it. Finally, she heard those fated words: "You've Got Mail." She opened her mailbox. 367 e-mails. Sighing, she selected them all and pressed delete. Starting anew was starting anew. A highlight on the news from that day caught her eye: Unusual Star Patterns Puzzle Astronomers. She clicked on the link, and an article popped up. Through the pages-long story, a note stood out bold in her mind. The dogstar was expected to be especially bright in exactly one week, and was then to dim into almost unrecognizable obscurity, and its return time was unknown There was a possibility that it would burn out forever. Her eyes widened in realization, and she stood, knocking her chair over. She stared at the screen in horror, frozen in place. This was the terrible event she'd dreamt about.

Legolas had to leave.

She walked up to her bedroom, to find Legolas with Avariel in his lap. Apparently, they had made up. He looked up at her silhouette in the doorway, a crestfallen expression planted on his face.

"Silmeamin," he whispered, setting Avariel down and standing to move towards her.

"I know. You have to go. Very soon, you have only a few days." He closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face, and touched their foreheads together.

"I don't wish to leave you, Silmeamin."

"I don't want you to leave, Legolas. But you must. You must be needed somewhere. I needed you, and that's how you came to be here, and now someone else needs you. So you have to help them."

"I am not a savior, Silmeamin. This should not be my responsibility."

"Please, Legolas, don't. Don't say these things to me. I don't want to lose you, but I will force myself to let you go if only to help someone else. Your people need you, somebody needs your help. So go. Please, say you'll go."

He kissed her, a heated kiss, until she couldn't think for her desire.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips as they connected again. "But I shall go." With the next kiss, her tears burst between their cheeks. He pulled back and looked at her, wiping her tears with his fingers.

"I... have only ever hated one thing before in my entire life. Only one person and the things that he did. But, I hate this. I hate this more than I hate Adam, so much more. More than having to restore my home. I, I really do." Sobs shook her body as hard comprehension dawned on her.  
Unspoken sympathizing and understanding came from Legolas. He pulled her towards him again in an embrace, but she backed away, her hands sliding down her face. She looked at him from between her fingers.

"Just, please. Don't forget me." With that whispered plea, she turned and walked from the room.

Knowing that she was going to lose him was perhaps the worst feeling she'd ever had in her existence - worse than the fear Adam invoked in her, worse than the hopelessness three straight days of studying for her Bar Exam brought to her. She felt a huge gash, a massive rip forming in the depths of her mind, her body, and her soul, and she knew that no one would ever fill it, could ever fill it, and that nothing would ever come close to the way it felt when he touched her, no sound would ever compare to his whispers in her ear, and no sight would ever come close to the way his eyes sparkled. She was sick and tired of sobbing, but there truly was nothing else to be done. She was about to lose the one and only love of her life, and there was nothing she could do about it. Worse than that, she knew it was the right thing, she knew he was needed, no matter how much she personally protested, no matter what she wanted.

She asked herself a question, trying to come to terms with her oncoming depression.

"What in the hell am I going to do?"


	15. First Goodbye

Chapter 15

Resigned to the fact that she had mere hours until she would be without her Elven lover, Rhiannon decided to make their very last night together special.

They went out to dinner, to a fancy Asian cuisine restaurant. They both refused to eat the sushi, and Rhiannon would have no seafood at all, so they settled with orange chicken, chow mein, egg rolls, and chicken lettuce wraps.

"Oh, go on then, Legolas. Try it." She was holding out a fork laden with chow mein noodles and a piece of orange chicken dripping with its citrus sauce. "Come ON! It's my absolute favorite. Please? Remember the french fry…" she said teasingly. Finally, he took the fork and placed it in his mouth. She smiled. She was wearing a crimson satin top and dark wash slim-cut jeans, with matching crimson leather wedges with gold trim. Next to them sat a tiny satin red handbag, with a hard cover which was dotted with tiny shimmering diamonds. Legolas was in black dress slacks, black leather shoes and a crisp white collared shirt, with his hair pulled pack over the tips of his ears and tied.

He gave the food an impressed look, and Rhiannon smiled again. She was having more fun than she'd ever had before.

"Okay, now try the egg roll. Taste it, it's good!" He bit into the egg roll and nodded his head in compliment. She laughed.

"Now do you understand why this is my favorite restaurant?" After a sip of his wine, Legolas smiled at her.

"Yes, I do. This is much better than the 'fast-food'. It is also better than the cooking of Lady Melissa." Rhiannon laughed again.

"You can say that again."

They waltzed around to the violin quartet before paying the check and leaving.

On the way home, they stopped at a New York style deli to pick up Rhiannon's favorite dessert, strawberry cheesecake. At home, she persuaded him to taste it, but upon realizing that he found it despicable, she allowed him to feed it to her while she laid in his lap on what would, in about 5 hours, become **her** new bed, as opposed to **their **new bed.

Their lips connected, sparks flying with the connection. She placed her hands on the sides of his face and traced kisses up the bridge of his nose, to his brow and over his closed eyelids before going back to his lips, where they shared a mind erasing kiss that lasted for minutes. Sitting up, Rhiannon turned around and straddled Legolas' lap, kissing him once more and tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. He ran his hands up her legs and gripped her waist, leaning forwards until she was on her back, with him above her. Another kiss. Rhiannon wrapped her legs around his waist, and he brought himself down onto her, placing his hands below her head and lifting her up for a kiss. When their lips parted, he laid his head directly center to her collar bone.

They laid that way for hours, just feeling each other's presence and talking quietly to each other about their histories and lives - how busy and frantic they were, how they found release from their stresses. Legolas told her of his activities in Mirkwood, Rhiannon explained her job to him. She turned her head to the window to see the stars coming out. A tear ran down her cheek, and she continued running her fingers through Legolas' silky hair, leaving the tear unchecked. She started suddenly, causing him to sit up and look at her in question.

"What is wrong, Silmeamin?"

"I forgot.. I wanted to take a picture of you before you left… let me go and get my camera." She rose from the bed and quickly went downstairs and to her car to grab her camera from the center console in her car. She rushed back upstairs to find him looking out of the window, at what she knew must be the dogstar.

"Legolas," She said, raising the camera to her eye. When he turned, she snapped a picture, capturing him in a moment where his sparkling eyes were open in surprise. She smiled at him.

"C'mon, work it. Give me a smile." He beamed at her, coming towards her to grab the camera and examine it. She snatched it away, waggling the index finger of her left hand while she held the camera behind her with her right.

"Nope. Not yet." She dashed from the room, holding the camera straight out in front of her. She realized the barrenness of her living room was good for one thing: she only had to watch out for walls when running from the Elven prince who had come forwards in time ages upon ages and was chasing her because he'd never seen a camera before.   
She was sure that would come in handy **real** often.  
She risked checking behind her, only to see Legolas gaining steadily on her, and so she turned in an instant, only to be grabbed.

"And now, Silmeamin, you will allow me an examination of the offending item."

She handed it over, unable to speak for lack of breath.

"What does this do?"

"It takes… pictures," she huffed out.

"What are pictures?"

"It's um… it's kinda like… like a moment frozen in time, a scene frozen right there for you to see."

"Like a painting," he said, looking at her for response.

"Yes, but it's much more accurate. It copies the image, instead of recreating it."

"How do you take a picture with this?" She took the camera in her hands.

"Well, first you point the lens at what you want to take a picture of." She pointed to the lens. "Then you look to see if it will look alright," she showed him the viewing screen, "and you hold down this little silver button right here." Legolas was nodding.

He took the camera out of her hands, and put his finger on the button. In an instant, he dipped her, placing his lips on hers, and clicked a picture. When he pulled her back up, she was beaming.

"I really hope that one comes out okay. Let's check it."

They were back in the bedroom, grasping each other's hands and looking out the window at the dogstar, which stood for undying loyalty, something the both of them would always have for each other. But it wasn't just unusually bright. It was blazing, almost difficult, painful to look at. She looked up at him, but he was gazing out of the window, a grim look on his face. He was back in the clothes he had been wearing when he arrived, his bow strapped to his back, quiver and all, and the White Knives in their proper place. She sighed and looked out again.

"Should we say something?" Legolas looked down at her.

"I do not know, Silmeamin. We might try, ' Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'.'"

"What does that mean?"  
"It means, 'Farewell. My heart shall weep until it sees you again.'" Rhiannon smiled.

"Alright. Let's try that, then." They turned to each other, the dogstar becoming ever brighter in the space between them. A lasting kiss, and then, looking deeply into each other's eyes, they said the words in unison.

_Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'._

Rhiannon was dizzy. The bedroom was spinning around her in a blur, along with a light that kept getting brighter. She heard his last words to her, whisper as if from far away.

"Amin lle mela, Silmeamin."

She was surprised; she was learning his language.

I love you, my Starlight.

She fell, placing her hands firmly on the floor to help stop her dizziness.

"I love you, too," she whispered to the darkness.


	16. Final Goodbye

**Chapter 16**

_Several months later…_

Rhiannon lay on her bed, along with a dozing Avariel, at five-thirty in the morning, watching nothing in particular on TV, and having both a nauseous feeling and an intense craving for pickles.

She'd been back to work, and the success in one of the most controversial, publicized murder trial of the decade with she at the helm of the prosecution, along with her notorious hard work, had earned her a partnership in the law firm where she worked.  
The trial had lasted almost three months, something she was grateful for. Without work to focus on, all she had to do was think about her own life, instead of the life of a suspected killer. She'd had no time to think, to do anything really. She'd only seen Melissa five times in those three months, which made her feel irregular. She was used to seeing her up to five times a day.

Three days ago, her victorious verdict had come in, and the next day, she received word of her partnership.

Partners didn't have to go in nearly as early as the regular attorneys.

Her glazed eyes went over her choices: the ends of infomercials, like the Magic Bullet and that fabulous knife set, early morning cartoons, which all seemed to feature Scooby Doo, news items on the women who had been raped the night before, or Barney. She settled for Barney.

And then, as the bright colors flashed against the screen, blue, yellow and red, she was reminded of a color she hadn't seen for almost four months. Red. Speaking of irregular!

'_Jesus Christ!_'

She hadn't bought feminine products for months… Aunt Flo hadn't been for a visit in many, **many** weeks!

Nausea began to rise in her throat, but that didn't mean anything, right? Right?!

And then, she vomited, all over her comforter. She looked at it in complete abhorrence, and climbed out of bed, a hand over her heart and one over her stomach.

"It can't be."

And then, she brushed her teeth, and went to get some of those pickles she wanted so badly.

She decided to wait a few hours before calling Melissa. She looked at the clock: five twenty-four.

"Oh, to hell with THAT." Pickle in hand, she yanked up the phone and pushed memory key one.

Melissa's groggy voice answered.

"Yeah?"

"Missy?" She crunched down.

"Are you alright?" Rhiannon winced. Her best friend thought that the only reason for her calling at almost six in the morning had to be an emergency.

"I-I don't know… Are you sitting down?"

"No. I'm laying down. In my bed. Where I was asleep before you called."

"Missy, I think I'm pregnant." A yelp, a click, and the conversation was over.

Knowing Melissa would be over any minute, Rhiannon laid clothes out on her bed. She noticed a shining thread on the seam of her comforter while wiping it off for the wash. She peered closer, and realized that it was a hair.

_You could sew with this stuff…_

She immediately pulled it out, to be surprised by a lengthy rip. She stuck her hand in and fished around, pulling out a leather pouch. She opened it, and removed its contents. Two letters, and an enormous diamond on a chain of a white metal that she couldn't identify.

One was addressed to her, and the other was addressed to someone named 'Daralis'.

She opened hers. There, in curvy writing, was Legolas' last message to her.

Silmeamin -

I write this to you as you sleep, quite near to me. Your hair is falling onto your face, and your body is slowly rising with each breath you inhale. It seems that when I think I have found a moment in which you could not appear more beautiful, you prove me wrong. Perhaps my knowledge of what also rises as you breathe makes you that much more beautiful to me.

I am truly sorry for not having told you this, but I have known since the second time we were intimate that you carried our child. I feel certain that as you are reading this, you also know of your condition, one that could not have been caused without my full knowledge. I only knew, Silmeamin, that I wanted no other to carry my child, and I had hoped to be there with you. I am ecstatic over this news of our child's arrival, and my grievance at leaving you only parallels to my grievance at never seeing our little girl, and missing her birth. The Elves can die of heartache- the only thing I have to keep me alive is our memories and the knowledge that we have shared worlds before, and that possibility leaves a chance, slim as it may be, that I will see you again, and meet our daughter.  
All I can attempt is to wait through the ages, as I have promised to do.

When an Elf gives his heart, he has no other to give. I love you, Rhiannon, and no one I ever encounter can change that, for I have fully given myself to you. The mere fact that we are apart physically will change nothing for me, as I hope it will change nothing for your love for me. Your beauty is not only physical, it is equally matched in your heart and soul, and the memory of your face and that heart and soul you have shared with me is more than enough to outweigh the pressures of anything or anyone else. The one thing you can always be sure of is my love for you- no condition, circumstance or event will ever dilute it.

The accompanying letter is for our child when you feel that she is ready. I only ask that, since I can have no part in her upbringing, that you let me contribute to her life in the only way I can think of at this point - her name.

I would like you to name her Daralis. It means 'beloved one'. I ask so that she will know that I love her, no matter how far apart we may be, and that I always will. Her name is something that she will carry throughout her life and beyond, as is my love and protection of her.

And simply to prepare you, Silmeamin, you should expect some things from her. Although she is a Peredhil, she will have attributes of the Quendelie. She will heal quickly, age slowly, need less rest and be stronger and more capable than most, if not all of her peers. At a certain age, she may be given the choice to stay a mortal, or to become an Elf, living forever, as have the Peredhil children of Elrond, Lord of Imladris. The matter of her future lies with the Valar, and they cannot be questioned, challenged, or rebuked. Remember this always.

The chain is for you, though I hope that it will go to our child eventually. It is of Mithril, a fine metal that has disappeared from your world. The chain will never break, and the diamond will never wear away, making it a fitting representation of my love for you.

I know that I need not ask you, Silmeamin, to protect our child. I do beg of you, however, to always have her know that her father loves her. Her knowledge of my undying love for her is the only other thing you could give me, for you have given me everything I could ever want or need.

Never forget me, my Starlight, my Great Queen, for I will never forget you, no matter how many ages pass me by. I love you.

_Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'._

_Legolas_

Rhiannon looked down at the paper. The ink was running in places from the teardrops that had fallen onto it. She protectively held the letter out from her person with one hand, wiping her tears with the other. She tried to stop, but knew it was hopeless. She melted off the bed onto a puddle on the floor, shaking with sobs and tasting her own tears. She missed him so much. It felt like a part of her was missing, and only after she had read the letter did she realize that Legolas felt t he same way as well. She eventually came to the conclusion that she missed the part of her that she had given to him, and she had the part of him that he had given to her to help her through it.

She heard Melissa's car pull up, and she quickly refolded the letter and put it back in the pouch, along with the second letter. She ran her thumb over the chain and looked at the diamond for a moment before replacing it, and when Melissa's key turned in the lock, she shoved the pouch deep under her bed and went into her bathroom to splash her face with cold water.

She was wiping when Melissa entered her bedroom. Water still clung to the tiny ringlets that framed her face, and her eyelashes sparkled as if hung with diamonds in the golden red sunrise.

She was mauled.

"Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Sweetie! You're gonna be a mama!" Melissa kissed her cheeks, and Rhiannon smiled.

She **was **going to be a mother. Half of her, and half of Legolas, kept safe inside her. It was marvelous, really, to simply ponder. She placed a hand on her stomach.

"Wow. I **am** going to be a mother."

"Tell me, Rhiannon. How is it that I am married, and you are having children before I am?"

Rhiannon smiled.

"I guess Elves **are** better." Melissa dissolved into giggles, unable to stop herself.

"I guess they are. Do you know how amazing this is? Oh Rhi, we're having a baby… I'm so excited!"

"So am I," she smiled. "I figure that I'm probably around four months right about now. I think I'll make an appointment with the doctor for later. I'll also have to call in to work and tell them I can't make it because of my appointment… My baby will always have to come first. Wow. I actually have a baby **to** come first."

"What do you think it is?"

"A girl. Definitely a daughter."

"Really? You'll have trouble on your hands!"

"Only if she's like you, Missy." Rhiannon winked at her best friend.

"Oh, shut up. What are you going to name her? Do you have any ideas?"

"I have one, yes. I just have to figure out her middle name."

"What are you going to name her?" Rhiannon shook her head.

"Not telling yet." Melissa made a dejected face at her denial.

"Fine, then. Ooh! Let's go online and look up names!" Rhiannon smiled. At least she was over it.

"I remember when we used to do that when we were teenagers!"

"I know!"

They rushed into the newly remade office, Rhiannon excited as ever.


	17. First Welcome

**Chapter 17**

Over the next five months, Rhiannon had exactly fifteen doctor's appointments. A check-up every two weeks, and in her ninth month of pregnancy, seven.  
She was terrified throughout almost all of them that something about her baby would give away the fact that she was a Peredhil, as Legolas had put it, what the consequences would be if that did happen, and she wondered constantly if she should notify the doctor.

In her sixth month, she was speaking to her pre-natal consultant, a forty-something woman named Mrs. Byron, about pregnancy safety and how she could make sure that her child was healthy and safe of any danger.

"Miss Storms, a large part of a safe pregnancy is for the mother to be relaxed. You cannot strain yourself, physically or any other way, for that matter. Your stress is transferred to the baby, just like the food that you eat is!" Rhiannon nodded and smiled, but inside, she was in turmoil.

_God, what am I going to do? Even when I don't mean to, this thing comes up in my mind..._

_If I keep this up, the baby will be in danger. I guess I don't have a choice but to tell Dr. Christensen._

"Alright, Miss Storms, I believe we are done here? Have a lovely day, and I'll see you next month?" Rhiannon recovered her voice.

"Yes, Mrs. Byron. Thank you, and have a good day as well." She walked out, in maternity jeans and leather slip on sneakers that Melissa had gotten for her. They were almost like walking barefoot, but there was support. They were black leather with tan highlight, and she was wearing a black maternity sweatshirt, as it was winter. She climbed into her X-5, with slight difficulty, and went home.

Now, after dancing around the house to calming music and talking to little Daralis Isolde (which she had chosen from the names that she and Melissa had picked, meaning 'fair one') before bedtime every night, a baby shower from all of her friends, some of which she hadn't seen in years, strong kicks from her daughter and bizarre cravings, not to mention the remodeling of the guestroom Legolas had originally slept in into a nursery and the purchase of additional infant eat ware, bottles, nipples, pacifiers, clothes, toys, books to read, music to calm, Lamaze classes with Melissa and a breast pump- something she wasn't necessarily looking forward to, it was almost time.

She had almost told her pre-natal doctor, Doctor Christensen, at her 36 week checkup, about the paternal lineage of her unborn child, but was cut short by the news that she would need an internal examination to determine the baby's position, because the external palpating either wasn't proving effective or was inaccurate.

The snapping of those latex gloves had presented her with a more urgent problem.

Now, she had an appointment with Christensen in an hour, and after smoothing out her hair and applying moisturizer to her lips, she began to both dress and wait for Melissa to come drive her to the appointment, muttering aloud about the upcoming confession.

"Oh please, let him be understanding, and accepting, and helpful, and… oh, and **secretive**. Please, let him protect our secret, let him be... good about this. She opened her drawer, and pulled out the leather pouch. She read her letter again quickly, the words already memorized, and then closed the necklace around her neck, for assurance. She was wearing dark maternity jeans, and a white, long sleeved, collared blouse with white sneakers. It took her fifteen minutes to tie her shoes, and by the time she had gotten into Melissa's car, she had half an hour to be at the doctor's office.

After she'd helped her get in, Melissa took her purse and put it in the backseat, but as she turned back, her eye caught the necklace.

"Holy shit! Rhi, where on Earth did you get that gigantic stone on your neck?!"

Rhiannon touched it, and smiled faintly.

"Legolas left it for me."

"Wow," said Melissa breathlessly. "It's beautiful." She looked for a second, and then started the car and they were off, riding toward what Rhiannon was almost sure would be her undoing.

When they arrived, Rhiannon's stomach was turning, and even Daralis was kicking, almost hyperactively. She sat in the waiting room for a total of about three and a half minutes, before she was called in.

She ambled onto the freshly papered bed, and started rubbing slow, soft circles where she could feel Legolas' daughter kicking quickly, her mother's nervousness causing her to kick, and her kicks making her mother more nervous. She acknowledged Doctor Christensen's entrance with a slight jump, causing him to laugh his amusing laugh. It really was more of a chuckle, when she thought about it, but all the same it comforted her.

"Doctor, I have a … quick question. You do practice an edict of complete secrecy, correct?"

The doctor nodded slowly, thoughtfully.

"Well, yes, Miss Storms, we do. Is there something you wanted to tell me?"  
"In a matter of speaking, yes. It's just that I… I.. well, I … was wondering if I could talk to you about a few things."

"Of course."

Rhiannon opened her mouth…

"I'm very nervous, and I have some personal questions about the feelings I'm having."

…and couldn't bring herself to say it.

After asking the doctor some generic, false questions, she slowly left the office with Melissa.

Once, again, it was Rhiannon's turn for watery eyes.

When she and Melissa returned home, they packed her a bag for the hospital while Rhiannon counted the times Daralis had kicked that day and Melissa fed Avariel. They decided to rent their favorite movies and have Melissa sleepover at Rhiannon's house, the way they used to when they were in high school.

After a trip to Blockbuster and the grocery store for snacks, they retired to Rhiannon's house and the big screen downstairs for their film fest. They started off with some Johnny Depp, and ended four hours later with season one of Sex and the City. Melissa yawned and stretched, but Rhiannon was wide-awake, so she told Melissa to go and get into her bed. She went into her kitchen, grabbed two pickles, a dish of peanut butter, potato chips and a cup of ice cream and went back to the couch and began watching _Welcome to the Dollhouse_, snuggled into two blankets and about seven pillows, Avariel on her legs because with the baby, there was no more room left on her torso.

After Rhiannon finished her "snack", she looked at the clock above the television. It was eleven at night, and though she was on maternity leave from the firm, she had wanted to get up in the morning and spend the entire day setting everything in order so that she would be worry-free in the hospital, so she paused the movie, got up, set the clock/radio in her kitchen to ring at seven-thirty, and again nested into the covers, coveting her pet and absentmindedly plucking at the Mithril chain around her neck.

Five hours later, she woke suddenly when a sharp pain shot up her spine, went through her brain and dashed down her front. It had lasted for about 15 seconds. She moaned loudly, and heard a rustle from upstairs. Then everything went silent again, which lasted for about 15 minutes. She was just sinking back into a worried slumber, when again, something happened. She felt her stomach get harder and another pain came through her, but only in the front this time. It felt like little Daralis was doing jumping jacks. She wailed this time and screwed up her face, meanwhile hearing feet touch the floor in her bedroom, which was directly above her head. Avariel slinked from the couch after the emission, whilst a flash of blonde streaked down the stairs and when she opened her eyes again, Melissa's were staring right back at her, not two inches from her face. She shrieked, but Melissa allowed her no time to castigate.

"What's wrong?" She asked frantically. Rhiannon opened her mouth, but was hit by another contraction.

"I- oh God… I think I'm having contractions!" Melissa's mouth quickly went into an O.

"I should call the ambulance… Here, watch TV or something, and I'll get you some water." Melissa clicked on the TV and changed the setting to its satellite feed, and Rhiannon clicked around, until she came to the twenty-four hour news station. The screen showed an overhead view of the freeway, which was broken and closed off both ways. Rhiannon turned up the volume.

"Mere hours ago, a crane working on the recently-decided modifications to the freeway veered out of control and struck both the north and south bound lanes on an overhead bridge, breaking the cement in a freak accident, and consequently closing the freeway until it can be repaired. It is expected to be reopened in 48 hours, stranding most commuters for the next two days while the emergency repairs are made. Keep watching here for updates." Rhiannon called to Melissa.   
"Missy! Did you hear that on the news? The freeway is closed!"

"WHAT?!" Melissa came charging through the doorway, nostrils flaring.

"There was an accident on the - Ah!" She took a sudden intake of breath, alerting Melissa to another contraction. The worst-case scenario was before them - there was an urgent emergency, and their only way to the hospital was closed.

"Come on, then. I'll call the ambulance anyway, but you should go and get in your bed." Rhiannon took her friend's outstretched arm for support, and went upstairs, each step harder and more painful than the next.

"Missy, don't call them," She struggled out through clenched teeth.

"What in the sake of fuck are you talking about?" Melissa was looking at her as if she were insane.

"I didn't tell him... I didn't tell Doctor Christensen about Daralis... Ah! Oh, oh-oh-oh ohhhh! Melissa, I can't have her in the hospital."

When she finally, gingerly, laid down in her bed, eyes screwed tightly, she heard Melissa dash back downstairs to get her a glass of cool water, and return, and felt the cool glass on her hand as she handed it to her. Rhiannon moved to bring the glass to her lips, but dropped it onto the bed and clutched at the blankets around her. Melissa grabbed a towel from the stack she had put next to her and wiped up the water before it could soak in, still rolling over the cover like a transparent bead, glinting in the light of the lamps that were being turned on. Melissa ran into the bathroom and dunked another of the towels in cold water, and then wrung it out, and used it to wipe Rhiannon's brow, which was already dotted with beads of sweat.

"OH! Ohhhhh Goooooddddd… somebody save me," Rhiannon was groaning loudly and wincing, sucking in breath through her clenched teeth as she was hit by another contraction.

"Shh.. shshsh. You have to calm down, and do your breathing. Come on, like we did in class." Her words reminded Rhiannon of the time they had tried to bake a pie the summer after their cooking class together. Which made her head hurt.

No, that was another contraction.

Melissa was sitting at the head of the bed, with Rhiannon's head in her lap, running her fingers through her hair and blotting her face, which was quickly becoming more and more flushed, with cool water.

The sound of Rhiannon's rhythmic breathing filled the room, everything else silent until a contraction hit.

Then the wails began.

As Rhiannon returned to her breathing, a sudden thought came to Melissa.

"Rhi, listen to me." Rhiannon looked up at her friend, eyes hazy from the pain. " I'm gonna go and find a fabric tape measure, okay?"

"Why do you need a tape measure?"

"Well it's not like I can stick a ruler down there to see how dilated you are, is it?

"Oh God," Rhiannon whispered.

Another contraction hit, this one the most intense yet. Rhiannon screamed in pain, and then moved restlessly against the bed, whispering curses and moaning in agony. Melissa came fleeting back in with more towels, another glass of water, a tape measure trailing from her arms, and among other things, a cell phone to her ear and an 800 milligram pill of Motrin. She held it and the water out to Rhiannon.

"I know this won't take away the pain, but maybe it'll help? It's prescription strength. I'm on the phone with the hospital, they're going to talk me through this." She turned around, and then turned back to Rhiannon, this time her arms full of towels. "Can you roll over? Let's try to get these towels under you so when your water breaks, it doesn't get on the bed." With great effort and help from Melissa, Rhiannon rolled and scooted over, waited until the towels were in place, and moved back. "Okay, Sweetie, with the next contraction, you have to focus on _where it is happening_."   
Rhiannon watched as Melissa spread out a towel next to the lamp on her bedside table and placed two steaming objects on it - they had just been sterilized, Rhiannon realized. There was a mucus pump, and a pacifier, followed with blankets, more towels and a small basin of water that was slightly steaming. The next contraction took away her focus on the objects, on everything, really, but she did manage to figure out where it was based _before _the pain shot through her body.

"Missy… They're in the front, and the small of my back."

"What are?"

"The contra-" Another one. They were becoming more frequent. "The contractions."

"Okay, she said that the contractions are in the small of her back and the- Really?! Shit. Let me measure you, then." As Melissa moved to measure her, she heard buzzing in the distance. She had to think for a minute before she realized it was the alarm in the kitchen.

"I've been like this for two hours… how dilated am I?"

Rhiannon received a look of sympathy. "You're only six centimeters."

"Oh great. Just fucking greaAAAAH! Aaah! Aaaaahhh!" Rhiannon grabbed Melissa's hands, and when she let go a minute and a half later, there were deep imprints of her fingernails left on her manicured hands.

"Missy," she began, " I can't. I cannot do this. It's too much. It's just way too fucking much." Melissa looked up from nursing her hand.  
"I think the Motrin worked better than we both hoped. You're getting loopy. You can do this, and I know that you will, because you have to. Just like your driver's test, and the Bar."

"Those were a bit less painful, Melissa." She felt Melissa place a cool kiss on her forehead.

"Just a tiny bit, yes." Rhiannon closed her eyes and began doing her breathing again, her chain still around her neck. She clasped the diamond firmly, and while it cut harshly into her hand, she began concentrating.

_'Just let me get through this.. if I can do this, I can do anything. Just let me get through this. Oh please, please let me get through this. I don't think I'm strong enough.'_

Another contraction racked her body, this time accompanied by something else - the towels beneath her were suddenly soaked as her water broke.

"Come on, Ry, you can do this! Push! You have to push harder! Keep up your breathing!" The hospital was on speaker phone at this point, and whoever was on the other line was hearing Rhiannon's shrieks every three minutes.  
Rhiannon glared furiously at her companion. Easier said than done, that was for damned sure.

Four hours into this, and finally she could feel that a shift was happening. She pushed again, as hard as she could, and Melissa shrieked. Terrified that something was wrong with her baby, Rhiannon sat up- to the best of her ability, that is- and stared, both panicked and expectantly at her friend.

"Lay back down! I can see the head! Hey, she's got a lot of hair…"

"Melissa.." Rhiannon ground out through clenched teeth, "That is not first on my agenda right now." She felt another contraction, and pushed - as hard as she could.

"Ahhhhh!! She's crowning, Ry! Like, seriously, like, two more pushes and you're done!" So Rhiannon pushed, as hard as she could again, and the most painful feeling she'd ever had, along with an incredible rush of relief, and then, the air was sweeter, her sight was clearer, and her ears filled with the sound of a ringing cry. She gasped in relief and held her hands out blindly, hair damp with sweat and plastered to her face, tears running down her cheeks.

Melissa finished cleaning the baby up and clearing up her throat and lungs a little more, and when she finished, Rhiannon got what she was reaching for. She took her daughter into her hands, and as soon as she held her, everything was different. Daralis quieted down, and Rhiannon gazed at her- Melissa was right, she did have a lot of hair. She was running her fingers through it, silky straight strands, the color of her hair, and staring at her piercing blue eyes, exact shade as her father's.

"My god, Missy! She's here!"


	18. Epilogue : Control Regained

Epilogue

Months later, while taking a picture of the six-month old Daralis Isolde Storms, Rhiannon remembered what else was on the memory card after looking and seeing that she had six pictures left. After finishing the card with seven pictures of her daughter, She packed her safely into her carseat, hopped in at the front, and went to the drug store for their one-hour photo processing. She finally convinced Daralis, who was decked out in denim and pink, to release her hold on the magazine in front of them, and she took her to lunch, where she carefully smashed her food and helped her drink her water, while cooing at her, and relishing in her gummy grin.

They returned to the drugstore an hour and a half later, and picked up the pictures. While Rhiannon buckled Daralis in, her determination not to look at the pictures until they were home buckled as well. She crawled over Daralis' seat, receiving hands clutching at her shirt and a hearty giggle, and sat in the back seat of her car, next to Daralis, gazing at each of the pictures. The first few were of Melissa and Matt, she and Melissa, Then the next ones- the first one she took, of him looking surprised, then the grin he'd given her, the kiss… She remembered a time when she thought that nothing would ever replace Legolas, his touch, his voice, and the very sight of him, but looking at their daughter, remnants of him so evident in her, her tiny hand wrapped around one of her fingers, that laugh where she used every ounce of air in her stomach, and Rhiannon's own eyes re-created but Legolas' blue added instead of her chocolate honey shade, her hair color, and his nose, she knew, **knew** that everything would be alright, and realized- she had never felt better in her entire life. She passed the first two pictures to her sweet little Dara, explaining who it was to her and keeping the photos in good condition as the baby stroked them, and laughed her precious giggle.

And so even as her tears went down her cheeks and Daralis pulled her hair, she floated, ecstatic, in remembrance of everything that had helped her to get control of her life.

_Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'._


End file.
